Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno welcomed the approval of House Bill No. 7240, known as the proposed National Government Rightsizing Act, on third reading on March 14, 2023.

The National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP), which is a priority bill of the Marcos Jr. administration, aims to streamline and modernize government systems and processes to raise overall productivity and deliver better quality services to the public.

“The Department of Finance fully supports the passage of the rightsizing bill in the Lower House and we look forward to its approval in the Senate. The rightsizing of the government is in line with our efforts to make the bureaucracy more effective and efficient, while enabling us to direct public spending towards social services, human capital development, and infrastructure,” Secretary Diokno said.

The rightsizing of the government supports the Philippines’ Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) by generating savings that will be used to sustain infrastructure spending by at least 5 to 6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) annually.

Through these strategies, the government aims to bring down debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60 percent by 2025, then further down to 51 percent by 2028, and reduce the budget deficit to 3.0 percent of GDP by 2028.

The bill gives the President of the Philippines the authority to eliminate redundant, duplicate, and overlapping functions in the executive branch. This may entail the creation, reorganization, merging, streamlining or abolishing of government agencies and offices.

A Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch (CREB) will be created to oversee the implementation of the Rightsizing Program.

To ensure the transparency and participation in the implementation of the program, the CREB shall consult with concerned government agencies, accredited public sector unions, and other stakeholders.

Retirement benefits and separation incentives will also be granted to personnel who may be affected by the Program.

The bill was transmitted by the House of Representatives on March 15, 2023 and is pending in the Senate.