The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has ordered all government agencies to act on all pending applications and automatically approve them if they come with complete requirements before March 7, to comply with the prescribed processing time for transactions under the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Act.
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica said the deadline signals an inter-government approach against agencies who remain uncompliant with 3-7-20 rules.
The EODB Act seeks to do away with bureaucratic red tape in government by prescribing the “3-7-20” rule wherein simple transactions would have to be completed within three days, those classified as complex within seven days, and highly technical ones within 20 days.
In a press conference on Feb. 17, Belgica said ARTA has issued a new memorandum circular to hasten the processing of government transactions and get all government agencies to comply with the prescribed time for processing transactions in line with Republic Act 11032 or the EODB Act.
Under Memorandum Circular 2020-02, all pending transactions which have taken longer than its deadline must also automatically be granted or extended, or else possible criminal cases will be filed against responsible officials.
To ensure there are no aging pending applications with agencies beyond the 3-7-20 rule, Belgica said ARTA in partnership with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) would be conducting joint random compliance audits starting March 7.
“We need to make our government agencies realize that the law is here and there are no more excuses for their slow processes and inefficiencies. We have given them time and options and now, we can no longer tolerate sub-par service,” he said.
Belgica said among the government agencies that are complying with ARTA are the Department of Energy, PAGIBIG, Land Transportation Office, and Social Security System, while local government units like Valenzuela, Parañaque, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro also doing great jobs through their one-stop shops.
Earlier, the ARTA required all government agencies to submit their citizen’s charter which provides information on requirements for each application or permit, the time it would take for the transaction to be completed, and the fees.
“Around 1,800 agencies who have already submitted updated citizen charters to comply with 3-7-20-day rule, most national government agencies have already complied. But we’re giving far-flung municipalities until March 31 to comply.” Belgica said.
He said many of those who have yet to comply with the requirement are municipalities in the far-flung areas and have asked ARTA to give them more time to submit the requirements. – PIA release
April 20, 2024
