ARTA gaining headway vs government red tape (Sabong News)
Author
Manila Bulletin
Date
MARCH 07 2022
If there is one government agency that is effectively making gains in pushing for genuine reforms in the government bureaucracy, it is the Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA). The agency was created under Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. The law requires all government agencies to act within 3-7-20-day period and Zero Backlog Program on all their transactions as stated in the law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).
The role of ARTA is to reduce if not eliminate bureaucratic red tape in government, which translates to delays, lost opportunities, inefficiency, and all the negative habits of government agencies and its personnel. Bureaucratic red tape is nothing but a breeding ground for corruption.
Vested with the powers of the law, Secretary Jeremiah G. Belgica spearheaded a crackdown on government agencies that have been identified to sit on applications not just for days and months, but years, discouraging capital to flow into the country.
Belgica swept inefficiencies at the Food and Drugs Administration which has been plagued with backlogs, even for transactions that were supposedly for automatic renewal. It facilitated the telco tower permitting processes, the housing, and the logistics sectors.
Agencies have been required to come up with the Citizens Charter, a list of requirements for every transaction, to ensure no additional documents will be asked outside the list.
ARTA made the heads and personnel of government agencies, local government units and other government instrumentalities accountable or face cases and termination. It has forged various joint memorandum circulars with government agencies to streamline processes and to stop them from operating in silos.
It pushed for automation in the processing of government transactions and apprehended fixers that abound in government offices, particularly at the Land Transportation Office. ARTA had already filed 561 cases against fixers and government workers who violated RA 11032 as of February 2022.
Failure to act on applications and requests within the prescribed processing time is also listed as a violation of RA 11032. First-time offenders will be held administratively liable with six months’ suspension.
For the second and succeeding offense, violators will be held administratively and criminally liable with dismissal from the service, perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of retirement benefits. They will also face imprisonment of one to six years with a fine of P500,000 to P2 million. Should they be found to be colluding with fixers, they will also be held criminally liable and face cases for violation of the Revised Penal Code and other applicable laws.
Today, and every March 7 of each year has been designated as “Zero Backlog Day” as ARTA intensifies its fight against government red tape.
The Zero Backlog policy should be a mark of good governance and a bureaucracy and government workers realizing their real purpose.
