Public urged to demand

transparency in services

The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) on Friday urged the public to assert their right to a transparent and efficient government service through a properly-implemented Citizen’s Charter, an official document that communicates, in simple terms, the information on the services provided by the government to its citizens.

More than serving as a basis for the recognition of performance, the Citizen’s Charter shall be the basis for establishing accountability in the delivery of government service, which is stated in the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act (RA) 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

RA 11032 entitles the transacting public to a Citizen’s Charter that must be placed at the main entrance or the most conspicuous or visible place in a government office.

This shall be in the form of information billboards such as touchscreen information kiosks, electronic billboards, posters, tarpaulins, or any other readable materials written in a manner that is easily understood by the public.

The Citizen’s Charter must also be available for perusal in the form of a handbook with a soft copy uploaded to the respective websites of the government agencies.

“A Citizen’s Charter is akin to a menu in a restaurant. It is there that you can see what dishes are being served and how much. Likewise, a Citizen’s Charter is required of every government office big or small, because it reflects all the services being offered, fees to be paid, requirements needed to be submitted, and most of all the processing times per service. This must be posted in the most prominent place in the entrance of every office so the people may hold the agency to those standards as listed in the Citizen’s Charter. In short, the Citizen’s Charter is the agencies’ social contract with the people,” ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica said in a news release.

When transacting with government agencies, ARTA urges the public to look out for the following information on Citizen’s Charters: (a) a comprehensive and uniform checklist of requirements for each type of application or request; (b) a step-by-step procedure in obtaining a particular service; (c) person/s responsible for each step; (d) maximum time to conclude the process; (e) the document/s to be presented by you; and the (f) amount of fees that you should pay and where the payment shall be made. Lastly, the transacting public shall also be informed in the Citizen’s Charter with the (g) procedure that they could undertake to file any complaints to the agency.

For the July 25 deadline set for government agencies to submit their revised Citizen’s Charter, ARTA also requires that the new processes implemented and all other revisions on existing services that are being adopted in consideration of the declaration of a State of Public Health Emergency be reflected in their respective Citizen’s Charter.

ARTA had since been working to ensure that all agencies are equipped with the capacity and the guidelines to properly comply with this provision of the law. With the extension of submission allowed given the constraints brought by the pandemic, ARTA expects nothing less of the government agencies in granting the public’s right to a Citizen’s Charter