The Civil Service Commission on Thursday allayed fears that the new law allowing the optimization of the national government will lead to mass displacement of government employees.
CSC Assistant Commissioner Ariel Ronquillo clarified that Republic Act No. 12231 or the Government Optimization Act is targeted to “improve the delivery of public services” of government offices.
‘Yun ang isang gusto kong linawin. During the hearing, it was clarified na ‘yun pong ating Government Optimization Act — dati ang tawag dito rightsizing —binago ang title in order to disabuse the minds of some people who are apprehensive against this na kapag naisabatas ito, it will lead to massive layoffs,” Ronquillo said in a televised interview.
(We want to clarify that the Government Optimization Act will not lead to that. The law was previously called rightsizing but was renamed to disabuse the minds of some people who are apprehensive of this and believe the law will lead to massive layoffs.)
“Hindi po ganun. Hindi target nito na magtanggal. Ang layunin nito ay lalo pa pagandahin ang serbisyo na binibigay ng mga kagawaran sa mga mamamayan kaya pag-aaralan ang kanilang mga structure,” he said.
(That law was not made to remove personnel. The law aims study the structure in order to improve the services of government agencies.)
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the law on August 4.
Under the legislation, optimization is defined as the process of analyzing and designing the appropriate roles, mandates, structures, functions, sizes, systems, and processes of government agencies to ensure effective, responsive, and efficient service delivery.
The law aims to minimize, if not eliminate, redundancies, overlaps, and duplications in its operations and simplify its rules and regulations, systems and processes, while protecting the welfare of civil servants and other government workers.
It 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, and government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) not covered by Republic Act 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.
Teachers and teaching-related jobs in elementary, secondary, technical or vocational schools, state universities and colleges, and non-chartered tertiary schools are not covered by the law, nor are uniformed personnel of the Department of National Defense, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Justice.
Employees in excluded positions must meet the qualifications and be carrying out their duties, the law said.
Meanwhile, Ronquillo assured civil servants that the CSC will ensure the law will not be used for indiscriminate layoffs. He also said employees who will be affected by the optimization will be granted with appropriate benefits.
“Nakabantay kami to ensure na ang batas na ito ay hindi gagamitin para sa indiscriminate layoff or termination from the service of a certain official or employee,” Ronquillo said.
(The CSC will safeguard the implementation of the law to ensure it will not be used for indiscriminate layoff or termination from the service of a certain official or employee.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News
