THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said government agencies need to address the 168,719 vacant positions for permanent employees in the National Government (NG) organization chart, known as the plantilla.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman told a Senate briefing on Monday that one possible way to bring down the vacancy numbers is to reclassify positions, particularly with the government seeking to rightsize the civil service.
“There are agencies that request for reclassification depending on their priorities. Maybe what we can do is release a circular of sorts, together with the Civil Service, to encourage all agencies across the board to reclassify and fill up their positions.”
The NG has about 2 million plantilla positions, with an 8% vacancy rate equivalent to 168,719 positions, the DBM has estimated.
With rightsizing looming, “we also want to fix positions and reclassification within departments across the National Government,” Ms. Pangandaman said.
The DBM called on agencies to prioritize contract of service (CoS) and job order (JO) workers in filling vacant plantilla positions.
Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva called for the rationalization of government offices and encourage agencies to reclassify existing positions as appropriate.
“Many agencies are not listening to the call. They’re not filling up positions,” he said.
The DBM tallied 832,812 CoS and JO workers within the government as of end-June 2023, with some 69.68% of the total in local government units.
The NG has a 20.8% of non-permanent workers; state universities and colleges 5.3%, government-owned and -controlled corporations 3.4%; and local water districts 0.77%.
The agencies with the most number of CoS and JO workers include the departments of Public Works and Highways, Health, Education, Social Welfare and Development, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Trade and Industry and Labor and Employment, it said.
The proposed National Government Rightsizing Act is currently with a Senate committee. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
