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reducing
Red tape
In government
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Reducing
Red tape
In government
Poor public service delivery due to bureaucratic red tape has long been
a problem in the Philippines. Government planners have recognized the
problem, stating: Cumbersome government procedures slow down the
delivery of public service and increase transaction costs. The same
arduous government processes also provide the venues for corruption,
given the natural tendency to avoid bureaucratic red tape
(Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016).
Indeed, long lines, excessive requirements, and the slow processing of
applications or requests can all be too time-consuming for people and
businesses, such that they resort to giving grease money or lagay to public
officials or getting the assistance of fixers in exchange for easier and faster
transactions. Lagay can be conceived as a form of speed money that
cuts delays in the transmission of files inside administrative offices
by enabling the client to forge ahead in slow-moving
queues for public services (Bardhan 1997).
According to Wilson (1989, as cited by Guriev, 2004), red tape, or excessive
rules and regulations, was created for the opposite purpose: to make sure
that people get the services they need without bribes. Guriev (2004) noted
that one way to look at red tape is that it was imposed on bureaucracy to
reduce favoritism and discretion in order to contain corruption. It, however,
effects otherwise. Red tape hinders people from getting what they need,
resulting in peoples dissatisfaction with the governments delivery
of services, and essentially giving way to corruption
and creating public mistrust in the process.
Image credit: blogs.ft.com
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DECEMBER 2016
volume 9 issue 4
features
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12
POLICY GAPS
The law is not perfect. As such, it also has gaps that
need to be addressed. Saguins (2013) study on
the Citizens Charter revealed that although citizens
became more informed of the processes on
transactions they needed to do, the general
public is still very much unaware of ARTA.
08
Citizens charter
on the cover
Cover page from thisismoney.co.uk
11
Policy implementation
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CONCLUSION
The key policy challenge is how to elevate
performance standards and strengthen
implementation either through performance
incentives and administrative sanctions.
CONTENTS
philippine
government
In addition, it was during former President Estradas term
that the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP)
created the Ten-Point Jumpstart Program to combat corruption
(Mendoza, 2011). It included the proposed Mandatory Citizens
Charter along with Transactions Reengineering and Report
Card Surveys as one of the programs in fighting corruption.
The use of a Citizens Charter was developed in the United
Kingdom (Saguin, 2013) as one way of reducing bureaucratic
red tape. Former President Estrada, however, did not
finish his term, and the Program was endorsed to
the next administration (Mendoza, 2011).
The administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
had the most anti-corruption efforts initiated, and probably
because the government needed to gain ground in public
support at that time, especially following the impeachment of
former President Estrada due to graft and corruption (Oyamada,
2005). The Arroyo administrations anti-corruption efforts were
implemented not only at the national level but also at the
local level. Some of these included the National Anti-Corruption
Plan of the Philippines (Rey, 2016) and the lifestyle
check for government officials (Oyamada, 2011).
Efforts to cut red tape were also present in the Arroyo
administrations agenda. Procedures for transactions were
trimmed down as the number of signatories were halved, and
information and communication technology (ICT), as well as
the automated process, were used in transactions. With the
reduction of signatories for transactions, [b]y 2002,
government agencies ha[d] reduced red tape in
their departments ... (Oyamada, 2005).
According to Mendoza (2011), in 2003, Service Guides were
also published by government agencies and offices and Workflow
Charts were also posted per directive of the Office of the
President. However, the Civil Service Commission reported that
compliance was low. Marikina City and Naga City had tried to
set up their Citizens Charters about the same time the
Service Guides were being implemented (Mendoza, 2011).
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The Anti-Red Tape Act was a product of Senate Bill No. 2589, authored by
Senators Juan Flavier, Edgardo Angara, Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., and Panfilo
Lacson, and House Bill No. 3776, authored by Reps. Jose de Venecia,
Rodriguez Dadivas, Ace Barbers, Eduardo Zialcita, Rey Aquino, Edgar Chatto,
and Florencio Noel (Primer on RA 9485: The Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, 2008).
On June 2, 2007, it was signed into law by then-President Gloria MacapagalArroyo. A year after, its Implementing Rules and Regulations was promulgated
by the CSC through CSC Resolution No. 081471. Former President Arroyo,
through an administrative order, then directed all agencies and offices
to follow the ARTA law by December 2009 (Gainer, 2015).
Under this law, all government offices and agencies, including local government
units and government-owned and controlled corporations providing frontline
services, excluding those with judicial, quasi-judicial, and legislative
functions, are mandated to do the following:
1. Identify their frontline services;
2. Reengineer transaction systems and undergo time-and-motion studies if
necessary; and
3. Create service standards or the Citizens Charter.
In addition, Section 8 of the Act also mandates offices and agencies to limit
signatories to 5 and to shorten the response time for a certain application or
request from 5 to 10 working days. Denial of a particular service availed should
also be explained to the client. The law also requires offices and agencies
to serve even during lunch breaks, wear identification cards at all times,
and to put up a Public Assistance or Complaints Desk in their office.
Heads of offices and agencies are responsible for implementing the Act.
Based on Administrative Order No. 241, agencies will get their funds for ARTA
implementation from their maintenance, operations and overhead expenditures
or their MOOE budget. Specifically, 10 agencies, the Bureau of Customs,
Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Food and Drugs, Bureau of Immigration,
Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Environment, Laguna Lake
Development Authority, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Social Security
System, and Government Service Insurance System, will apportion 2% of
their total budget to ARTA implementation. These 10 agencies were also
the pilot agencies for ARTA implementation (Mendoza, 2011).
Meanwhile, at the local level, local government units (LGUs) can apply for
a supplemental budget and cite RA 9485 as justification. The LCE and the
Sanggunian can find a way to acquire funding sources for their Citizens
Charter (Primer on RA 9485: The Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, 2008).
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Citizens Charter
What differentiates ARTA from other
anti-corruption laws in the country
is the inclusion of the Citizens
Charter. The concept of the Citizens
Charter is not new, having been
introduced several times in previous
administrations before the passage
of this law. However, it was only
institutionalized during this time.
Section 6 of the Law requires all
offices covered by the law to set up
their service standards or Citizens
Charter for their frontline services,
which should include the following:
Step by step procedure for each
transaction;
Officer/office responsible for each
step;
Documents required;
Fees, if any;
Time allotted for the whole
transaction.
Further, it must also include the vision
and mission of the office/agency and
the procedure for filing complaints.
Citizens Charters must be in the
form of information billboards and
published materials; written in English,
Filipino, or the local language; and
placed in front of the office/agency or
at a very noticeable place in the office.
Citizens Charter of agencies and
offices are subject to review every
two years. According to Mendoza
(2011), implementation of the
Citizens Charter at the local level was
piloted in LGUs in the information
technology corridor. Trainings were
held for government officials crafting
their agencies or offices Citizens
Charter (Mendoza, 2011), with DAP
being the lead agency for capacity
building. In 2009, DAP held a seminar
on formulating and implementing the
Citizens Charter for some national
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Sanctions
Sections 11 and 12 of the law provide
the sanctions for government officials
or employees, as well as for fixers
found to be violating the law. For
government officials or employees,
refusal to accept transactions,
applications, or requests constitutes
a light offense, with penalties ranging
from 30 days suspension without
pay and obligatory attendance to
the Values Orientation Program
to dismissal and perpetual
disqualification from public service.
What constitutes a grave offense is
conniving with fixers or acting as fixers
for personal gain. Penalty for a grave
offense is dismissal and perpetual
disqualification from public service.
Fixers, on the other hand, will face
imprisonment for up to six (6) years
or a fine of Php 20,000 to
Php 200,000 or both.
Policy Implementation
Report Card Survey
The Report Card Survey (RCS) is a
provision of the law (Sec 10, RA 9485)
that aims to monitor how agencies
and offices implement ARTA and
how they fare in the services that
they provide. Aside from measuring
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Source: Bantay.ph
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Bantay.ph
Bantay.ph is an organization whose mission
is to uplift the standard of government
service and increase citizen engagement
(Bantay.ph). Like the CSC, it aims to combat
red tape. Bantay.ph has an online platform
that informs and educates people on the
ARTA law and encourages citizens to
take part in their work. Bantay.ph
works through volunteerism.
In 2015, it signed a memorandum
of agreement with the CSC for ARTA
monitoring and documentation of these
activities (Punongbayan, 2015). That same
year, Bantay.ph stated in a press release
that one of their activities is training student
volunteers to check the ARTA compliance
of Metro Manila LGUs. Results of the
monitoring are published on their website
(Figure 1).
Policy Implementation
Through implementation of ARTA and the i-ARTA Program, the agencies and
offices compliance with the law, as well as their delivery of frontline services,
are monitored. With the Citizens Charter in place, transparency of government
transactions and/or processes is assured, and accountability is exacted
from the officers or employees and their respective offices or agencies.
Saguins (2013) study on the Citizens Charter revealed similar results. Based
on his study, compliance with ARTA is higher compared to other laws or measures
initiated in the past. Transparency and accountability is also highlighted through
the Citizens Charter. In addition, Saguin (2013) also found that posting
the Citizens Charters made more citizens aware of transactions
processes. Fixing activities also lessened, although this might only
be because of the RCS done in service offices.
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Policy Gaps
The law is not perfect. As such, it also
has gaps that need to be addressed.
Saguins (2013) study on the Citizens
Charter revealed that although
citizens became more informed of
the processes on transactions they
needed to do, the general public is
still very much unaware of ARTA. The
Citizens Charter merely serves as
compliance to the law for the offices or
agencies, instead of it becoming a tool
to empower citizens and curb red tape.
Saguin (2013) also found that there
are two items least followed in the
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Project Repeal was first implemented in the following agencies: Department of Finance; Department of
Trade and Industry; Department of Budget and Management; Department of Tourism; Department of
Energy; Department of Public Works and Highways; Securities and Exchange Commission; and
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (Jiao, 2016). On the first Repeal Day,
held in June, almost 4,000 regulations were cut. The next Repeal Day is set on December,
and around 5,000 laws are planned to be removed (Schnabel, 2016).
The DoF and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) have partnered to
put up an online database to unify recordkeeping across agencies (Lopez, 2016). Through the DICT
database, agencies will be able to share records, making it easier for the citizens to apply for various
documents they need. They are targeting to finish the database before the year ends (De la Paz, 2016).
Conclusion
The 2007 Anti-Red Tape Act is a valuable policy tool for reducing transaction time and easing the
cost of doing business in the Philippines. It fosters transparency and minimizes discretion in
government decision-making processes. When public agencies supply appropriate process flowcharts
on frontline services, information asymmetry is kept in check. Citizens and the private sector are able
to transact with government without the need for fixers who perform brokerage functions. The key
policy challenge is how to elevate performance standards and strengthen implementation
either through performance incentives and administrative sanctions.
In Congress, several bills were filed seeking to lessen the processing time for government transactions
and enhance service standards. The proposed measures aim to amend certain sections of the
ARTA law. These include Senate Bill No. 982 filed by Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senate Bill No. 932
filed by Senator Ralph Recto, and House Bill No. 2148 filed by Representative Enrico Pineda and
Representative Odylon Romero. These bills, although separately filed, all sought to amend a portion of
Section 8 of RA 9485. From the original 5-10 working days allotted for a certain office or agency to act
upon requests or applications, they are proposing to change it to 3-7 working days. Only Senate Bill No.
982 had additional proposed amendments. It desires to amend Section 9, and include that
all applications or requests (license, permit, or authority) not acted upon during the allotted time
will be deemed approved until a decision on that certain application or request is made.
Additional actions are being proposed to tighten the implementation loop through severe sanctions.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri is exploring the possibility of criminalizing red tape. This means that in the
event that the processing of an application or request extends beyond the maximum processing time,
the officer or employee responsible may be charged with a criminal offense (Mercurio, 2016).
Another way of strengthening compliance with anti-red tape regulations is through performance-based
incentives. Fiscal transfers can be increased for local government units and national agencies that
perform well in reducing transaction time for frontline services and easing the cost of doing business.
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references
Bantay.ph
Bardhan, Pranab. 1997. Corruption and Development:
A Review of Issues, Journal of Economic Literature. 35:
1320-1346.
Brillantes, A. B. and M. T. Fernandez. 2010. Toward a
reform framework for good governance: focus on
anti-corruption, Philippine Journal of Public Administration, 54: 1-2, 87-126.
Cabinet Cluster on Good Governance and Anti-Corruption and Philippine Open Government Partnership
Steering Committee. 2015. Shared commitments for
better outcomes: the Philippine Open Government
Partnership national action plan 2015-2017.
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