Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has picked up the cudgels for contractual government workers particularly those who have been in the bureaucracy for 10 years or so.
Gatchalian was seeking the inclusion of a provision creating plantilla positions in the bureaucracy rightsizing bill to accommodate “qualified contractual employees” who have been in the government service for a good part of their lives.
“I would like to propose some form of language where part of the mandate is to create plantilla positions to accommodate contractual employees who are qualified,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
He pointed out that many contractual employees have held their respective positions for over 10 years and were already compliant with civil service requirements. The problem was there is no plantilla items for them.
A plantilla position refers to a permanent position with a salary allocation in the annual national budget.
Gatchalian asserted that rightsizing should not only focus on improving government efficiency, but must also provide state workers with appropriate positions for the functions they have been performing for quite some time.
The senator emphasized that the lack of plantilla items should not hinder efforts to improve government efficiency in delivering public services.
During a previous consultative meeting on Senate Bill 890 or the Rightsizing the National Government Act, Gatchalian asked Department of Budget and Management representatives to provide estimates on the potential savings the government could generate if the proposed rightsizing bill becomes a law.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, stressed that any savings mustered from the rightsizing measure could help improve the government’s fiscal position without resorting to imposing new taxes.
Senate President Francis Escudero, author and sponsor of SB 890, earlier said the chamber will prioritize the passage of the bill before the 19th Congress goes on recess in June.
