During the Bagong Pilipinas kick-off rally last January, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. pressed that in whatever government office, red tape must be replaced with a red carpet.
He said services must be fast, projects must be completed on time, deadlines must be met per schedule, and distress calls must be responded to without delay.
The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has responded by pushing forward for bureaucratic efficiency to ensure that processes in the government are suitable and faster for all Filipinos.
Efficient services closer to the people
Aligned to its initiative of eliminating red tape, ARTA has conducted the Bagong Pilipinas town hall meeting and Ease of Doing Business (EODB) orientation among barangay officials in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.
ARTA Director General Ernesto Perez underscored that it is vital that the fight against red tape begins in the villages to ensure that efficient services are available closer to the people.
“The barangay is an effective and more efficient way by which programs of government can be fully-implemented. It has to be done at the barangay level. If we are to fully implement our programs [and] initiatives at the barangay level, then we are assured that our programs will be successful especially with the vision of the President for Bagong Pilipinas,” he said.
Efficient local government officials will ensure that problems about red tape in the villages will easily be addressed. It will attract investors that will lead to economic improvement.
Republic Act 11032, otherwise known as the EODB Act of 2018, mandates that government offices are required to complete simple transactions within three days; complex transactions within seven days; and highly technical transactions within 20 days.
With this in place, the public can report to ARTA those who failed to deliver services on time.
Public servants who are found violating the law will be suspended for six months on the first offense, and jailed for up to six years with a penalty ranging from P500,000 to P2 million and removed from retirement benefits on the second count.
As part of their obligation in the implementation of the EODB Law, ARTA has instructed local government units (LGUs) to operationalize electronic business one-stop shops in their areas. It shall handle usual transactions such as applications for license, clearance, permit, and authorizations.
Perez emphasized that these should serve as an end-to-end process for applications for business permits including the submission of requirements, processing, payment of fees, and the printing of the required fees that can be done in the comfort of the clients’ homes.
“We encourage LGUs who have not yet set up an operationalized one to adapt this program because this, for sure, will be a more effective way of fighting red tape and corruption and even in improving the revenue collection thereby improving the economy of the LGU,” he added.
LGUs which were able to operationalize electronic business one-stop shops have seen a substantial increase in the number of business registrations, as well as revenue collections.
A compliant LGU will also be able to issue a business permit in as short as 20 minutes. In 2024, the target duration in applying for a business permit should be about 10 minutes, ARTA said.
Capacitating LGUs to comply to EODB Law
Understanding the constraints and the limitations of LGUs, Perez highlighted that ARTA is continuously working with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to capacitate and enable LGUs to comply with the one-stop shop requirement.
It has already capacitated a total of 10 LGUs and national government agencies to comply with the requirements of EODB Law particularly in the setting up of electronic one-stop shops through its “Paspas Pilipinas” project. ARTA likewise provided 500 computers to LGUs to be used for the shop.
Through DICT, LGUs may now use the electronic government system which offers a wide range of local government services including business permit and licensing, local tax processing, local civil registration, real property tax, barangay clearance, and information dissemination.
The Philippine Business Hub portal, a platform where citizens and business owners may access the forms, information, and requirements needed for business-related transactions, is also available.
City of San Fernando’s fight against red tape
In support to the country’s fight against red tape, Mayor Vilma Caluag shared that the city government is implementing various programs to ensure its compliance to the EODB Law.
The LGU regularly updates its citizen’s charter. It also conducts regular orientations and distribution of information, education, and communication materials about the law.
“It is very important that we hear the voice of the public in our processes that is why we opted to do a client satisfaction measurement survey where we will see the opinion of our clients, if they are happy with the way that we are doing our transactions in the city,” she added.
The city received a 99.69 percent rating in 2023 in its client feedback mechanism.
Also, as part of its initiatives towards a full electronic business one stop shop, the city government is currently preparing its in-house business license and permit system in coordination with DICT.
It is vital to ensure that there is an efficient government that fights corruption under the Bagong Pilipinas. Given this, it is high time to prioritize measures that will make public service more responsive and effective so that Filipinos may rekindle their hope towards a better tomorrow. (CLJD/JLDC-PIA 3)