Trim Excess Government Officials, Not the Employees

The militant COURAGE, the national center of government employees, today said the Arroyo Administration should instead train their guns on the excess officials and not on the lowly government employees with recent pronouncement from no less than Civil Service Commission Chairperson Karina C. David that the bureaucracy is "bloated with excess officials".

In a statement, COURAGE National President Ferdinand Gaite said it's about time for the government to put a stop to the practice of political patronage and spoils system which are responsible for the blatant abuse of discretion and prerogative on appointments.

"It's an assault not only to the merit, fitness and promotion system because qualified career service officials and employees were being displaced to give way to the administration's families, lackeys and supporters, but also to the hundreds of thousands of government employees that have been the usual targets of the irrational rationalization program of the government," Gaite said.

David revealed at the Makati Business Club gathering that President Arroyo has the highest number of political appointees surpassing previous administrations and chided the President for abusing her prerogative on appointments. The CSC Chief also said that of the 6,000 managerial positions, 3,500 are appointed and more than 60% of these appointees were not eligible.

Gaite added that the President Arroyo issued Executive Order 366 in October 2004 to rationalize and streamline the bureaucracy purportedly to cut on cost and make the operations more efficient. "Obviously, said program, premised on wrong assumptions is highly unacceptable. Because these appointed officials with their astounding salaries, allowances, perks and other privileges are the ones bleeding the coffers dry. Their politics, priorities and ineligibility are to blame for the rudderless programs and operations of the agencies which further deprive the people of much-needed services".

An estimated 420,000 of the 1.4 million employees nationwide are reportedly being targeted for lay-off. This is aside from the resultant lay-offs accompanying mergers and abolition of agencies, transfer of Departments to the regions and other pending legislations in Congress which seek to privatize government owned and controlled corporations.

"Maliit na nga ang sweldo, tinatanggal pa sa trabaho (The pay is already low, and now we are at the risk of unemployment). Government employees simply had enough".

COURAGE is set to hold a kick-off protest rally on January 26 at the Elliptical Road in Quezon City and in key cities nationwide against lay-off. This will culminate in a nationwide big rally on February 14 where estimated thousands of employees at the NCR will march to Mendiola. #

Reference: Ces R. Peta

Regional Coordinator-Cordillera, C

COURAGE office 300-3489