Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman on Wednesday, 13 July expressed the Department of Budget and Management’s (DBM) support for the rightsizing of government agencies and personnel.,In a radio interview, Pangandaman said the DBM is supportive of the Marcos administration’s thrust for a lean, efficient, and responsive government workforce.,The Budget chief revealed that a proposal to rightsize the bureaucracy is being polished for submission to Congress before the delivery of the President’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA).,“Ang overarching objective nito [rightsizing] ay magkaroon ng maliit na burukrasya na agile at responsive sa makabagong panahon. Aayusin po ng programang ito ‘yung mga ahensya na mayroong repetitive functions or overlapping functions,” said Pangandaman.,She explained that the proposal for rightsizing will determine which among the 187 government agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) with more or less two million personnel may be streamlined through merging, restructuring, or abolition,Pangandaman believes that the government will be able to save a significant amount of budget through the proposed rightsizing.,The funds that can be saved, she aid, can be used to fund priority projects such as building much-needed infrastructure, social services, programs in the health sector, and agriculture, among others.,“For example, if five percent of the personnel will be affected by the program, it is equivalent to P14.8 billion per year that we can save in our personnel services,” she said.,She added that affected personnel may apply to positions that will be created as an effect of the rightsizing and that the government will also provide a retooling program for personnel so they may apply for vacant positions.,Meanwhile, those who opt to retire will receive appropriate retirement benefits.,“Pwede po silang (affected personnel) mag-apply doon sa ibang position na pwede nating gawin at mabuo because of the rightsizing po. Iyong iba, magbibigay tayo ng tamang programa para sa kanila for retooling,” she explained.,“Kasama po natin possible po ang Civil Service Commission. ‘Yung mga magreretire po, meron naman tayong ibibigay na mga retirement benefits po para sa kanila,” she added.,The proposal for rightsizing, however, excludes teaching and teaching-related positions, medical and allied medical positions or those in the health sector, and the military as well as other uniformed personnel.