Major Concerns In Philippine Public Administration Essay Example

by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo requires all executive branch agencies to submit a strategic review of their operations and organizations. The rationalization plan will then be developed based on these operational reviews.This Rationalization plan aims to address various issues such as shifts in agency policy, redundant or outdated functions, functions that have been given to Lugs, and functions that compete with the private sector. However, according to an article by Alex Brilliants Jar.ND Marcel Fernando in 2008, only 36 out of over 100 Cogs in the country have submitted their rationalization plans after four years of government. Out of the 80 plans submitted, only two department-level offices and nine Cogs were approved, while three departments were evaluated but not approved. Currently, there are 44 plans under evaluation, with eight departments and 19 Cogs having completed their submission and three departments and four Cogs making partial submission. Furthermore, there are plans that have been returned for revision, one from a department and four from Cogs. The DAB is still expecting submissions from three departments and 24 Cogs. To address personnel issues, the cost containment measures primarily focus on reducing the size of personnel. During the review of agency operations and organizations, some functions or units may be found to be redundant, overlapping, or duplications. In line with this, E No.366 provides the Voluntary Retirement Scheme as an option for affected personnel.The scheme involves identifying agencies with redundant functions or revenue losses for the government. These employees are given two options: either remain in government service and be placed in other agencies needing personnel, or avail of detachment/separation benefits along with applicable incentives. The early retirement package

will provide an average retirement benefit of nearly PH 1 million per beneficiary, which will be funded by the national government through a SIS$300-million World Bank loan. The Department of Budget and Management states that the government will save around PH 7.7 billion annually from the reduction in the wage bill, allowing them to repay the PH billion loan within two years. It is estimated that 30,000 employees will avail of the separation/retirement plan, resulting in projected savings of only 2.6 percent of the annual personnel expenditure allocation. Therefore, the fiscal impact is minimal and may not effectively address concerns regarding bureaucratic inefficiency.According to the data collected from DAB in 2008, a total of 2,170 regular positions (1,888 funded and 282 unfunded) and 1,137 contractual/casual positions (978 untactful items and 159 casual items) were abolished as of April 2008. This action resulted in savings of PH 422 Million, consisting of PH 379 million explicitly saved and PH million implicitly saved. These savings were then reinvested into the relevant department agencies to strengthen their funds for purposes such as maintenance, other operating expenses, and capital outlay.