Philippine Army soldiers stand at attention during the celebration of the 126th Philippine Army Founding Anniversary in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on March 22, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News MANILA -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines should not be included in the rightsizing of government.

This was the stance of Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary Angelito De Leon when asked if they wanted to be included in the rightsizing proposed under Senate Bill Number 890 or the “Rightsizing the National Government Act of 2022”

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Under the bill, the military and uniformed personnel are exempted.

“'Yung sa Armed Forces of the Philippines should not be included because of the evolving security. Masyado pong dynamic to be tied into law. That is why based on the Executive Order 292, nasa Secretary of National Defense to determine the size and structure of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” De Leon said in the consultative meeting on the bill led by Senate President Francis Escudero who introduced SB 890.

“Kung ita-tie up po natin ito sa batas ay baka po hindi maka-respond appropriately ang inyong sandatahang lakas,” the DND official added.

Escudero was quick to rebut De Leon, however.

“We are delegating the power of Congress to create offices to the President which is contrary to what you’re saying na nilalagay sa batas. Hindi ah,” Escudero said.

“Dine-delegate namin sa Presidente 'yung kapangyarihan. Again kung ano ang tatanungin within a certain span of time dapat, na mag-create ng mga bagong opisina, bagong posisyon sa loob ng sandatahang lakas para matugunan yung kasalukuyan at hinaharap na pangangailangan ng bansa natin pagdating sa external security ng bansa,” Escudero explained.

He encouraged the DND to look into the matter further.

“The main reason why rightsizing got such a bad rep is because of your assumption in the explanatory note that the bureaucracy is bloated. But as you admitted rightsizing does not only mean abolishing positions, reducing the number, it can include creating new positions, new offices, upgrading, upskilling etc. If that is the purpose talaga, di abolition then there should be no concerns on the part of the uniformed personnel,” Escudero added.

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“The objective of rightsizing for me is not saving money, it is being able to deliver services more efficiently. If that is the objective, ayaw ba ng AFP 'yun, ayaw ba ng PNP yun?” the Senate leader asked.  

A substitute bill will be filed on Monday when the Congress’ session resumes.

The group COURAGE meanwhile said that based on their study, the government bureaucracy is not bloated, and hence should not be reduced.  

“Tatlong kawani sa bawat isandaang mamamayan ratio niya. So how can we say na bloated?” COURAGE Secretary General Manual Baclogan asked.

He said there should be seven for every 100 people which equates to 7 million for a population of 100 million.