Our dear President's fourth (4th) State of the Nation Address (SONA), he directed and made his comments about government offices having slow services and certifications. He clearly said that he wanted to see drastic changes on how government offices operate and threatened them, as per the President, if they "do not get their act together." So agencies really need to simplify their transactions starting now.
Back in 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte signed and amended the traditional "Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007" to the Ease of Doing Business Act which will organize and help people in applying for permits and clearances.
Read: President Rodrigo Duterte Signs Into Law The Innovative Startup Act
What does the Act entail?
As per the act, simple government transactions should be done, processed, and finished within a maximum time frame of three (3) days.
More complex transactions would require a maximum of seven (7) days; and highly technical and complex ones would mean a twenty (20) day time frame of completion.
Those, of course, were the proposed measures and some agencies still not abide by those provisions.
So, what our dear President wants is to make all government transactions easier, more accessible, and less time-consuming.
In his fourth (4th) SONA, he addressed the following agencies for still bringing terrible service and time span to the public:
Read: President Rodrigo Duterte Said He Wants an OFW Department
- The Land Transportation Office (LTO)
- The Land Registration Authority (LRA)
- Home Developmental Mutual Fund (HDMF) or the Pag-IBIG Housing Fund
- The Social Security System (SSS); and
- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
These five (5) agenices, as per the President, has been widely observed to have slow service to the public. He said that even after the Ease of Doing Business Act has been embedded onto our Republic, these agencies are still not following.
I reiterate my directive to government, including the LGUs (local government units) and government corporations: Simplify, May I? Nandito ba kayo? [Are you with me?] just like the others. You can do it electronically, you do not have to go to the office. I've been asking that from you since three years ago. 'Pag hindi niyo pa nagawa 'yan ngayon, p@p*tayin ko na talaga kayo.
In Translation: If you don't do it, I will definitely k!ll you.
Why are these agencies important for the President?
Well, other than the fact that these agencies are part of the agencies that are yet to have faster, better, and more efficient service, these agencies provide the most important documents.
The LTO provides the driver's license of an individual; the SSS provides benefits and pensions for private workers; the BIR is in charge of the collection of taxes; the HDMF or Pag-IBIG handles the housing development and home loans for Filipinos; and the LRA is responsible for the land titling of our citizens.
Taxpayers are where you get your money from
In addition to that, he also said and reiterated to these government agencies that they get their money, their salaries from the Filipino people. So, it is just right for us to be given this privilege of having faster and easier government transactions-to simplify everything.
Make your services client-friendly. Your client is the Filipino, your employer from where the money in our pockets come from, our salaries."
All permits and clearances out in three (3) days
If you think he's done, think again. Back when he implemented the Ease of Doing Business Act, some agencies abided by the rule. However, some did not.
So, in his fourth SONA, he pressed the fact that he wants all certificates, clearances, and permits out in three (3) days.
Read: Duterte Wants Purging of the Party-List System
I am directing you publicly. All clearances, permits emanating from your office that would also need your approval, must be out, at the very least in 3 days."
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año to check on the idea of "simplify"
The President, of course, would need a hand in maintaining all of these. He elected Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año to check, observe, and deliberate whether or not his directive is being followed.
The DILG has been one of the few government bodies to push the Ease of Doing Business Act; they're doing it since 2017 by pushing LGUs to streamline and hasten processes done.
I am directing also the DILG Secretary [Eduardo] Año for the local government to see to it that this is honored. I want three days, unless there is an exceptional reason, para hindi na magpabalik-balik. Diyan ang tirahan eh."
In Translation: So that the people won't have to go back and forth to the offices; that is where all the dirty work is.
Read: LTO Fees For New License, Student Permits, Etc.
To top it all up, he said and put emphasis on the fact that he beats up extortionists inside the Malacañang Palace personally. So if dirty workers are not afraid by what President Duterte said, I don't know what will scare them.
Make use of the 8888 hotline
Given any circumstance, should a permit applicant become wary that the process is taking longer than what the order was, President Digong said that he wants citizens to make use and take full advantage of the 8888 hotline.
He said that applicants who notice grease money or those who have been offered bribes can make a scene via the Emergency Hotline.
Read: End of Endo Act, Approved by the Senate
Our dear President is very well aware of our current economic situation. The Philippines currently ranks at the 124th out of 190 economies globally.
This means that we are almost at the bottom, taking data from the World Bank's latest Ease of Doing Business report.
During President Duterte's SONA, the Philippine government contested this and said that newer and later reforms were not included in the data that the World Bank presented. However, President Digong admitted that there is a large room for improvement in this context.
Read: PSA, Davao to be One of the First to Roll Out the National ID Registration
With the directive from our dear President, the DILG has more and better power in plummeting down LGUs who try disobeying what the orders are from the leader.
Have you tried getting a clearance, a permit, or a license from any of these agencies? Were you able to interact with them in applying for any type of certification needed for employment, a benefit, or an identification? Did you feel the "simplify" that our dear President wants?
Well now that President Duterte commanded all agencies to simplify their transactions, all agencies must abide by this.
Leave a Reply