CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — Around 50 zone leaders of barangay Carmen, here, attended the Bagong Pilipinas Barangay Forum, which focused on the Anti-Red Tape Law that emphasized the goal of government to provide seamless government transactions, promoting ease of doing business, while lessening any opportunity for corruption practices.
Red tape is when a process takes more time than usual and there are instances of under-the-table transactions to expedite government service or process,” said Dominique Sanchez, supervising administrative officer of Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA)-10.
It is important to refer to the citizen’s charter of each agency or government office because any process required by any government office that is not within the citizen’s charter is considered illegal or not allowed.
“Look for a citizen’s charter even in the barangay to make sure their processes and fees are reflected,” he said.
ARTA also urged a zero-contact policy to avoid bribes and corruption. The standard processing time for all government transactions follows the 3-7-20 guidelines: 3 days for simple, 7 days for complex, and 20 days if highly technical. He also added that this excludes the Saturday, Sunday, and holidays.
“The law ensures that government transactions have a shorter processing time, dili na pahirapan (no more struggle),” Sanchez added.
He also urged participants to be proactive in filing complaints for government offices violating the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA). He said they can call 888 and/or report to the ARTA office.
Meanwhile, the no-no’s of ARTA include no official receipt for payments, the presence of fixers, and noon breaks, among others.
“The goal is to have ease of doing business in government offices; however, penalties are in place for those found guilty of the violations,” he shared.
One participant, Exudio Acot Vidal, zone leader and first-term barangay councilor, said the ARTA forum was a big help and very informative for them.
“Ang inyong pagpasiugda dinhi og shortened seminar or symposium dako kaayo nga nakatabang kanamo for what reason kay very informative kaayo, especially pagpagawas karon sa anti-red tape,” he said.
(Your promotion of a shortened seminar or symposium was very helpful and informative, especially with the recent release of the anti-red tape.)
Mirasol Miral Casinillo, barangay Carmen Zone 6D leader, shared that the ARTA forum was a big help to their barangay as an avenue for new information, especially for public servants like them.
“So bilang public servant, kailangan gyud nato mapapaspas ang atoang pagpanerbisyo sa atoang katawhan, so mao ni naa ang ARTA dako kaayo og prebilehiyo para ang mga tao naa diani matagaan pud nato og assistance kung naay mga complaints, nganong wala nahatag ang mga serbisyo,” she said.
(As public servants, we must expedite our service delivery to our citizens, which is why ARTA offers significant advantages. We can also offer support when complaints arise about unfulfilled services.)
The Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-10 spearheaded the forum with the goal of disseminating government programs, projects, services, and policies to the grassroots.
Barangay Chair Joaquin “Kikang” Uy welcomed and thanked the PIA-10 team before the barangay forum at the New Building of Barangay Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, and encouraged the Zone Leaders of his barangay to learn as much as possible about the services and campaigns of the PIA and Anti-Red Tape Authority. (JMOR/PIA-10)
