By Joyce Pangco Pañares

THE government will release to four agencies within the month P100 billion to finance infrastructure projects aimed at boosting employment and economic activity across the country.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said the special allotment release orders for the Public Works, Transportation, Education and Agriculture Departments, representing 60 percent of the amount allotted for infrastructure spending, would be released within the next two weeks.

“They have already submitted their spending program for the first quarter, around 60 percent of their total infrastructure spending for the year. I am supposed to release the [special allotment release orders] for these not later than the end of February,” Andaya said.

At the same time, he assured government workers that they would not be displaced, and that P1 billion had been set aside for the government’s employment rationalization plan.

He said more than 60,000 workers would be hired within the year including teachers, policemen, nurses and “green-collar” workers, who will be employed under a P2-billion reforestation plan.

“Doing a rationalization program at this point might be off-timing when we’re talking about jobs generation, stimulus packages and livelihood, but there will be no forced retirement. Those who want to stay may stay,” he said.

The government will be hiring 10,000 teachers, 2,000 non-teaching personnel, 500 jail guards for the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Corrections, 3,000 policemen, 500 nurses under the Nurses Assigned in Rural Areas program, and 40,000 green-collar workers.

The rationalization program, launched in 2007, is aimed at streamlining government agencies, and has already been implemented in more than 30 government offices.

Data from the Budget Department show 9,300 government positions have been collapsed so far, with the government raking in about P1 billion in savings while spending P280 million in incentives for the workers who have opted to retire.

“These people all retired on their own. They were not forced. In fact, there’s a need to fill up more positions in the [National Statistics Office] and the [Land Transportation Office], among other agencies,” Andaya said.

Andaya said the 60,000 new positions would be on top of the 180,000 temporary jobs to be financed by 1.5 percent of the maintenance and other operating expenses of government agencies, or about P7 billion.