DATE September 14, 2022 Hy)

* TIME 10:53am *
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES by
Quezon City

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Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE BILL NO. _ 4816

Introduced by Representative Joseph Gilbert F. Violago

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This commendable bill had been filed in the past Congress and the present
proponent is acknowledging the wisdom and hard work of his predecessors.

This measure seeks the rightsizing of the national government which will lead
to the minimizing of duplication or overlapping of functions of the government work
force. Eventually, it shall improve the delivery of public service thereby it is in line with
the thrust of the present administration which is for an efficient and responsive
govemment workforce. The president will be given authority to rightsize the Executive
Branch wherein a Committee on Rightsizing the said branch shall be established to
oversce the implementation of the Rightsizing Program. The legislative and judicial
branch of the government as well the Constitutional Commission, Office of the
Ombudsman and the Local Government Units may rightsize their offices which should
be in line with the principles and guidelines stated in this bill

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is sought.

JOSEPH Ki. '. VIOLAGO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

INETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO._4816

Introduced by Representative Joseph Gilbert F. Violago

AN ACT RIGHTSIZING THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE PUBLIC
SERVICE DELIVERY

Re it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Rightsizing the National Government
Act”,

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote and
maintain effectiveness, efficiency, and economy in the government and enhance institutional
capacity to improve public service delivery, and to ensure the attainment of the country’s societal
and economic development goals and objectives. Consistent with this, the government shall focus
its functions and resources on the essential role, scope, and level of governance, and minimize, if
not eliminate, redundancies, overlaps, and duplication in its operations and simplify its rules and
regulations, systems, and processes.

SECTION 3. Coverage. - This Act shall cover all agencies of the executive branch, including
departments, bureaus, offices, commissions, boards, councils, and all other entities attached to or
under their administrative supervision, government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs)
not covered by Republic Act No. 10149, or the GOCC Govemance Act of 2011

‘The Legislature, the Judiciary, the Constitutional Commissions, and the Office of the Ombudsman
may, within their respective authorized appropriations, likewise rightsize their respective offices,
consistent with the principles and guidelines contained in this Act

Local Government Units (LGUs) may also rightsize their respective offices, consistent with the
governing principles and guidelines contained in this Act and the provisions of R.A. No. 7160 or
the Local Government Code of 1991, and subject to their financial capability.


The Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) shall continue to exercise its authority under
R.A. No, 10149 to reorganize, merge, streamline, abolish, or privatize any GOCC, in consultation
with the department or agency to which the GOCC is attached.

SECTION 4. Principles and Guidelines. — The National Government shall implement a
Rightsizing Program in accordance with the following principles and guidelines:

a. The role of government and the scope, level, and prioritization of government activities
shall be determined in accordance with the constitutional mandate, political and socio-
economic objectives of the government, and available resources;

b. The government shall establish a conducive policy environment to encourage active private
sector engagement in the production and delivery of goods and services;

c. The delineation of responsibilities between the National Government and the LGUs in the
provision, production, and delivery of goods and services shall be clearly defined;

d. A whole-of-government approach shall be adopted to ensure seamless operations of
agencies within and across sectors and to be more responsive to public needs;

. Government operations shall be simplified so that the departments/agencies can focus on
the performance of their core functions and implementation of programs and projects that
will lead to the attainment of the desired sectoral and national goals and outcomes;

# Government systems and processes shall be simplified and modernized to facilitate the
delivery and upgrade the quality of frontline services, as well as to improve policy
formulation, planning and performance evaluation, and raise overall productivity of the
public sector;

g. Government rules, procedures, and requirements shall be rationalized to reduce the
regulatory burden on citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders, as well as reduce the
administrative burden on the part of the government; and

h. The organizational structure of an agency shall be designed to facilitate the effective,
efficient, and economical implementation of programs and projects, and the attainment of
organizational outputs and outcomes; rightsized and the appropriate staffing mix shall be
determined based on the skills and competencies required to effectively and efficiently
carry out the agency mandate and functions.

SECTION 5. Authority of the President of the Philippines. ~ Pursuant to the governing rules,
policies, standards, and guidelines stipulated in this Act, the President of the Philippines is hereby
granted the following authority in the rightsizing of the operations of the different agencies of the
executive branch:

a. To pursue the following functional shifts/modifications:

1, Strengthen functions of the agency which directly contribute to the targeted
ultimate societal outcomes of the national government and/or the targeted
sector/sub-sector outcomes of the agency;


2. Scale down, phase out, eliminate, or discontinue functions, programs, projects that
can better be carried out or undertaken by the private sector, or have already been
devolved to LGUs consistent with the governing principles provided in this Act;
and

3. Transfer/integrate fimctions from one agency to another which can better perform
the same.

b. To undertake the following organizational actions:

1. Regularize ad hoc offices whose functions are vital and significant, thus must be
continually undertaken by the government;

2. Merge or consolidate agencies whose functions are necessarily overlapping or
duplicating and can be undertaken by a single entity: or clients are similar or related
to rationalize the use of goverment resources;

3. Split agencies with multifarious functions which are deemed distinet and equally
serve important aspects of governance;

4. Transfer offices to other agencies wherein their functions are more aligned; and

5. Abolish agencies (i) which functions are already redundant or no longer relevant or
necessary, or better undertaken by another entity; (ii) which are no longer achieving
the objectives and purposes for which these were originally created; (iii) which are
not cost-effective since these do not generate the desired levels of outputs and
‘outcomes vis-a-vis the resource inputs; and/or (iv) which have already become non-
operational, dormant, and/or outlived their purposes.

¢. To undertake other functional/organizational actions, as neces:
policies, principles, framework, and standards of this Act;

4d. To develop and provide safety nets, including their implementation strategies, for
employees of departments/agencies who may be affected by the government's rightsizing
efforts; and

€. To formulate an organizational development program to strengthen the institutional
capacity of the agencies and improve productivity of employees

Y, consistent with the

SECTION 6. Creation of a Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch. — A Committee on
Rightsizing the Executive Branch is hereby created to oversee the implementation of the
Rightsizing Program, in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

The Committee shall be composed of the Executive Secretary as Chairperson, and the Secretary
of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as Co-Chairperson, with the Secretary of
Socio-Economic Planning, Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Head of
the Presidential Management Staff, as members.

The Committee shall be organized within fifteen (15) days from the effectivity of this Act.


The Committee shall also organize Subcommittees composed of experts on government
Operations, organizational development, and human resource management to assist in the
performance of its functions.

The DBM shall provide the necessary secretariat services to the Committee and its Subcommittees.

In the spirit of transparency and participatory govemance, the Committee shall consult the
departmentsagencies concerned and aceredited public sector unions, and other stakeholders,
relative to the implementation of the Executive Branch Rightsizing Program

SECTION 7. Powers and Functions of the Committee on Rightsizing. ~The Committee shall
have the following powers and funetions:

2. To develop the policies, framework, strategies, and mechanisms to be adopted in the
implementation of the Executive Branch Rightsizing Program;

». To conduct studies on the functions, programs, projects, operations, structure, and
manpower complement of the different departments/agencies:

© To develop and prepare the rightsized organizational structure of departments/agencies
concemed and the corresponding executive issuances for approval by the President:

a To develop and prepare the overall change management program, including
communication plans, to effectively manage the transition and ensure the smooth
implementation of the Rightsizing Program:

¢. To formulate the mechanisms to safeguard the welfare of employees who may be affected
by the rightsizing efforts, as well as the appropriate organizational development program,
for approval of the President;

f. To monitor the implementation by the different agencies of their respective approved
Rightsizing Plans, and report to the President any issue that must be addressed:

& To engage the services of experts/consultants, through the DBM, to assist the Committee
and its Sub-Committees in the performance of their functions; and

h. To formulate the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this Act.

SECTION 8. Submission Of the Rightsized Organizational Structure and Proposed Executive
Assuances to the President. — The Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch shall submit to
the President the rightsized organizational structure of agencies concemed and the corresponding
executive issuances within two hundred fifty (250) days from the effectivity of the Implementing
Rules and Regulations (IRR) of this Act.

SECTION 9. Submission of the Detailed Organizational Structure and | ‘Staffing to the DBM. —
The heads of agencies shall prepare and submit to the DBM the detailed organizational structure
and staffing of their respective agencies within ninety (90) days after the approval of the proposed
executive issuances by the President: Provided, That assistance in the preparation of organizational
structure and staffing pattern has been extended to the agency by the DBM and the CSC.



SECTION 10. Retirement Benefits and Separation Incentives for Personnel Who May be
Affected by the Executive Branch Rightsizing Program. — The affected personnel bited on a
Permanent basis and with appointments attested by the CSC, shall be entitled to retirement benefits
and separation incentives

% The affected personnel shall be given the option o avail themselves of any ofthe following
retirement benefits under existing laws, if qualified:

1. Retirement gratuity provided under Republic Act No. 1616 (An Act Further
Amending Section 12 of Commonwealth Act No. 186,as Amended, By Prescribing
‘Two Other Modes of Retirement and for Other Purposes), as amended: or

2. Retirement benefit under Republic Act No. 660 (An Act to Amend Commonwealth
Act No. 186 or “An Act to Create and Establish a Government Service Insurance
System, to Provide for its Administration, and to Appropriate the Necessary Funds
Therefor,” and to Provide Retirement Insurance and for Other Purposes); or

3. Retirement, separation, or unemployment benefit provided under Republic Act No,
8291 (An Act Amending Presidential Decree No. 1146, as Amended, Expanding
and Increasing the Coverage and Benefits of the Goverment Service Insurance
System, Instituting Reforms Therein and for Other Purposes).

Aue retirement gratuity benefit of affected personnel who are qualified and shall avail of Republic
Act No. 1616 shall be paid by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). The GSIS shall
no longer pay the refund of retirement premiums (both personnel and government shares) of the
affected personnel who shall avail of Republic Act No. 1616 benefits.

b. In addition to said retirement benefits, the affected personnel who would opt to retire or be
separated shall be entitled to the following applicable separation incentives

1. One half (4) of the actual monthly basic salary for every year of government
service, for those who have rendered less than eleven (11) years of service:

2. Three fourth (%4) of the actual monthly basic salary for every year of government
service, computed starting from the first (Ist) year, for those who have rendered
eleven (11) to less than twenty-one (21) years of service;

3. The actual monthly basic salary for every year of government service, computed
Starting from the first (Ist) year, for those who have rendered twenty-one (21) to
Jess than thirty-one (31) years of service; and

4 One and one fourth (1%) of the actual monthly basic salary for every year of
government service, computed starting from the first (Ist) year, for those who have
rendered thirty-one (31) years of service and above

The actual monthly basic salary shall refer to the salary of the affected personnel as ofthe date of
approval of the agency’s detailed organizational structure and staffing by the DBM.


Personnel shall reveive only the government service up to age fifty-nine (59) and a fraction thereot
shal be counted. Government service starting a the age sixty (60) shall no longer be subject to the

8291, the portability scheme under Republic Act No, 7699 (An Act Insttuting Limited Portability
Scheme in the Social Security Insurance Systems by Totalizing the Workers” Croditable Service,
or Contributions in Each of the Systems) may be applied, subject to existing policies and
guidelines,

‘The affected personnel, if with permanent appointment attested by the CSC, who will not opt to
‘etire from the service shall be placed in a manpower pool to be organized and administered by
the CSC. The CSC, in coordination with other government agencies and relevant private
institutions, shall retool the subject personnel and deploy them to agencies which require their
qualifications, skills, and competencies.

The number of personnel who will avail of the separation incentives under Section 10 of this Act
shall in no case exceed the number of Positions declared for abolition,

‘The specific guidelines to carry out the provisions ofthis Section shall be prescribed inthe IRR of
this Act

SECTION 11. Other Benefits of Retired/Separated Personnel. — The affected personnel who
retire of are separated shall, in addition to the applicable benefits above, be entitled 10 the
following:

3. Refund of Pag-IBIG Contributions, both personal and government of all affected members,
Pursuant to existing rules and regulations of the Home Development Mutual Fund: and

> Commutation of Unused Vacation and Sick Leave Credits of the affected personnel in
accordance with existing rules and regulations

SECTION 12. Period of Availability of the Retirement Benefits and Separation Incentives. —
The retirement benefits and separation incentives provided in this Act shal be available within
sixty (60) days upon approval by the DBM of the detailed rightsized organizational structure and
staffing of departments/agencies concerned.

SECTION 13. Prohibition on Reemployment of Personnel Retired/Separated from the Service.
J personnel who retire or are separated from the service as a result of the implementation of the
Rightsizing Program shall not be reemployed in any agency of the Executive Branch, including in


GOCCs, fora period of five (5) years, except as teaching or medical staff'in educational institutions
and hospitals, respectively.

The retired/separated personnel under the program, who are re-employed within the prohibited
Period shall refund the separation incentives received under Section 10.bof this Act mac pro-rated
basis.

The retired/separated personnel under the program who undertake in consultancy services for the
government shall be governed by Section 7 of Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and
Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees).

SECTION 14, Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Rightsizing Program. ~ ‘There
iS hereby created an oversight committee to oversee, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of
this Act

The oversight committee shall be composed of five (5) members each from the Senate and the
House of Representatives which shall include members of the Senate Committee on Civil Service,
Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, the Senate Committee on Finance, the
House Committee on Govemment Reorganization, and House Commitice on Appropriations.

of the program.

SECTION 16. Report to Congress. The President shall submit a Teport to Congress on the results
of the Program after the completion of its implementation.

SECTION 17. Sunset Provision. — The authority given to the President under this Act, as well as
the existence of the Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch, shall end three (3) years after
the effectivity of this Act.


Gre heads of offices shall issue their respective IRR and fumish a copy thereof to the Joint
Congressional Committee on the Rightsizing Program and the DBM.

SECTION 20. Funding Requirements. — The amount necessary for the initial implementation of
{his Act shall be sourced against any applicable appropriation items under the eurrent Gunes
Appropriations Act. Subsequent amounts needed to continue the implementation of the Executive
Branch Rightsizing Program in the Executive Branch shall be included in the succeeding
appropriations.

G ihe event that the Legislature, Judiciary, Constitutional Commissions, and the Office of the
Ombudsman implement the rightsizing under this Act, the funding requirements shall be mcladen
in the succeeding appropriations.

SECTION 21. Separability Clause. ~ if any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or
invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect,

SECTION 22. Repeating Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, and
other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended,
or modified accordingly.

SECTION 23, Effectivity. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation

Approved,