67 gov't offices flunk red tape test

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Service Commission (CSC) on Wednesday said 67 government offices failed in the frontline service survey in 2013 which measured the ability of state agencies to eliminate red tape and provide efficient services.

The 67 offices came from the Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Development Bank of the Philippines, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Health, Department of Tourism, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Food and Drug Administration, Government Service Insurance System, Land Bank of the Philippines, Land Registration Authority, Land Transportation Office, National Bureau of Investigation, National Prosecution Service, National Statistics Office, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Public Attorney's Office, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, Professional Regulation Commission and the Social Security System.

The evaluation was done through the Report Card Survey (RCS) as mandated by Republic Act 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.

Out of all the surveyed offices, 168 or 18 percent were rated 'excellent,' 557 or 60 percent were rated 'good' and 101 or 11 percent were rated 'acceptable.' A service office fails the RCS when it incurs a final score that is below 70, or if it fails in one of the two core areas of the Anti-Red Tape Act, CSC noted.

Core 1 involves compliance with the Anti-Red Tape Act provisions and assesses if the frontline office has a Citizen’s Charter visible to transacting clients and an anti-fixing campaign, if frontline staff wear identification cards, if there are no hidden transaction costs, if there is a manned Public Assistance and Complaints Desk and if the frontline unit observes the No Noon Break policy.

CSC added that government offices rated excellent increased from 8 percent in 2012 to 18 percent in 2013.

“We have seen a significant improvement in the passers. In 2012, 25 percent of offices surveyed failed the RCS. In the most recent survey, only 7 percent failed,” CSC Chair Francisco Duque III said.

The annual survey is conducted in high-density and most complained service offices nationwide. Clients are given the ARTA survey form right after they availed of a frontline service of a government office.