January 23, 2018
The Civil Service Commission (CSC) yesterday recognized government offices which best complied with the provisions of the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA), a law which aims to improve frontline services. The activity, “ARTAnized: The ARTA Dekada Celebration”, highlighted the accomplishments in the 10-year implementation of ARTA.
“It is quite overwhelming to see today a bright future for the Philippine public service, as we are now accompanied by a number of public service giants or those who have shown passion in complying with the Anti-Red Tape Act—the ARTAnized offices and agencies, that is how we call them,” CSC Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala said in her keynote message.
Among the major provisions of ARTA are the implementation of the No Noon Break Policy, Anti-Fixer campaign, conduct of the ARTA Report Card Survey (RCS), conferment of the Seal of Excellence Award, and posting of the Citizen’s Charter, a tool to help curb corruption as it informs citizens of the step-by-step process of frontline services, the time it entails to finish each step, and the required fees.
CSC recognized local government units with highest ratings in the ARTA Report Card Survey from 2010-2016: City of Santiago, Tagum City, Compostela Valley, Borongan City, Arayat, Iriga City, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, Dolores, Talipao, Jolo, Sulu, Upi, Maguindanao, and Labo.
The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC), and Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) were recognized as Frontline Service Champions for the agencies’ exceptional performance in complying with the ARTA provisions which enabled them to deliver excellent frontline service. GSIS, PHIC, and LBP were surveyed under the ARTA RCS for at least three years between 2010 and 2017, and garnered the highest agency rating among surveyed NGAs. Said agencies also posted a 100% resolution rate of all concerns referred to them by the Contact Center ng Bayan (CCB) from 2012 to 2016 and not lower than 85% resolution rate of CCB referrals in 2017.
These NGAs were also conferred the Seal of Excellence Award Hall of Famers for earning the most number of Seal of Excellence Awards from 2010- 2016. PHIC received a total of 67 Seals of Excellence, GSIS earned 53 Seals, and LBP, 24 Seals. The Seal of Excellence is conferred on service offices that garnered an Excellent rating in the RCS through a “mystery client validation”, and passed the second-phase validation.
CSC Chairperson Bala also thanked frontline service officers and ARTA focal persons in each agency for their determination and commitment to upholding ARTA.
“If it not were for your commitment, ARTA would have just been a plain set of rules printed on papers, a false promise to the Filipinos. You did not let that happen; you proved that ARTA is a living document. Your deep resolve to deliver excellent public service made a big difference, and will continue to make a difference in the years to come,” Chair Bala said.
The Republic Act No. 9485 or ARTA was signed into law last June 2, 2007. The CSC promulgated the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the said Act through CSC Resolution No. 081471 on July 24, 2008. The IRR took effect on September 5, 2008. To obtain feedback on how ARTA provisions are being followed and how agencies are performing, the CSC started the conduct of the ARTA Report Card Survey (RCS) in 2010 with just 50 pilot service offices in 16 regions. To date, a total of 5,904 service offices nationwide have undergone the ARTA RCS. Of this number, 1,056 were rated Excellent.
This year, more than 500 service offices will undergo ARTA RCS. Chair Bala challenged these agencies to be ARTAnized in the future.
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