Senators to resolve rightsizing issues on two new depts pushed by Palace

TWO priority bills on the Senate agenda requires resolving serious “rightsizing” issues so as to not negate efforts to trim a bloated bureaucracy while creating departments deemed crucial to overseas Filipino workers and for a coordinated and efficient response to disasters.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri made this clear in a radio interview last Sunday as he listed the chamber’s priorities when it reconvenes January 18.

When sessions resume, senators will act on the pending motion of Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon to first decide whether to settle the “rightsizing” concerns that creating a Department of Overseas Filipinos will entail, Zubiri said.

More likely, he added, the Labor Committee chaired by Sen. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva will be asked to call new hearings just to take up Drilon’s concern that creating a new department goes against the avowed goal to rightsize the bureaucracy, given concerns that nearly half of the annual government budget goes to salaries and administrative costs instead of services.

Drilon had raised a similar concern about the bill creating a new Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), which is pending in the National Defense committee chaired by Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson.

While he himself authored one of the DDR bills, Zubiri acknowledged Drilon’s valid concern, which he said senators will seriously consider.

As the two bills creating the two departments“for OFWS and for disaster resilience” are both tagged priority by President Duterte, Zubiri said if the Executive pushes it, the measures would likely gain approval, but stressed that “we will not railroad” them.

“There is a good chance of them passing,” but, Zubiri said, the opposers of the measures must be provided with arguments based on solid data, given their serious concerns.

Zubiri, a vice chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said that based on his experience, a “task force” approach such as having the current National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council “will not do.”

“We need a full department,” he said.