BARANGAYS have recorded the lowest compliance rate in submitting their Citizens’ Charters, a key component of ease of doing business (EODB) in the Philippines.
In a statement, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said data collected by the Compliance Monitoring and Evaluation Office (CMEO) showed it has only received submissions from six barangays out of the 1,710 Barangay Local Government Units (BLGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR) since 2018 when Republic Act (RA) No. 11032, known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act was implemented.
In a statement, ARTA said CMEO has rolled out projects on the implementation of RA No. 11032, BLGUs in NCR. This initiative is a key component of ARTA’s strategic objectives for 2024.
Under the RA, government agencies and instrumentalities are mandated to set up the most current and updated service standards to be known as the Citizen’s Charter in the form of information billboards, which shall be posted at the main entrance of offices or at the most conspicuous place, in their respective websites and in the form of published materials written in English, Filipino, on in the local dialect. The Citizen’s Charter is one of the primary tools that government agencies use to communicate their service standards on the delivery of government service s to their citizens or clients.
ARTA Secretary Ernesto Perez noted the importance of the compliance to the establishment of Citizen’s Charter since barangays, as the basic political unit of the country’s governance system, are essential in improving the country’s bureaucratic efficiency and global competitiveness.
The rollout includes an orientation on the key provisions of RA 11032 and related ARTA guidelines, designed to guide barangays in complying with the law. Additionally, a workshop will be held to assist BLGUs in drafting their own Citizens’ Charter.
“The primary goal of rolling out the Ease of Doing Business law to barangays is to equip them with the necessary tools and knowledge to ensure compliance with the law’s mandates,” said Perez.
ARTA will leverage the Anti-Red Tape Electronic Management Information System or ARTEMIS, a web-based platform that facilitates the submission and evaluation of Citizen’s Charter submitted by government agencies and provides a real-time database accessible to the public.
ARTA targets to reach out to at least 150 barangays by yearend.
The pilot run took place in Pasig City last July attended by 29 out of its 30 barangays. A workshop attended by representatives from 14 barangays across 14 NCR LGUs was conducted last month.
