INSPECTION. Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Undersecretary Eduardo V. Bringas (right), Deputy Director-General for Legal, and Chief of Staff, and Undersecretary Carlos F. Quita (left), Deputy Director-General for Finance, Administration, and Special Programs, meet with Dagupan City officials during the inspection in Pangasinan on Friday (Nov. 26, 2021). The inspection was part of ARTA's cARTAravan in the Ilocos Region. (Photo by Hilda Austria)
MANGALDAN, Pangasinan – Government agencies in the Ilocos Region are 90.2 percent compliant with the Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said on Friday.
The ARTA officials inspected the local government units (LGUs) of Rosales, Lingayen, Mangaldan towns, and Dagupan City in Pangasinan on Friday as part of the agency’s cARTAravan, to be formally launched on November 29.
Undersecretary Carlos Quita, ARTA Deputy Director General for Finance, Administration, and Special Programs, said ARTA came up with the initiative to widen its reach outside Metro Manila to ensure the compliance of all government agencies with RA No. 11032.
The compliance rate for the law nationwide is only at around 60 percent, he added.
Ilocos Region, however, was found to have a higher compliance rate at around 90 percent, Quita said in an interview.
“All the LGUs have their Citizen's Charters prominently displayed in their city halls and are generally compliant with the ease of doing business law. However, there are some that have yet to set up their electronic business one-stop shops (eBOSS) or only activate their eBOSS during business permit renewal season,” he said.
He added they also have public assistance and complaint desk as well as the committee on anti-red tape as required by the law although some have yet to start forming the committee.
Undersecretary Eduardo V. Bringas, Deputy Director-General for Legal, and Chief of Staff said the cARTAravan allows the ARTA to practice its twin functions of enforcement and empowerment.
"This is part of our empowerment function. Instead of us doing the investigating, we give them the liberty and the chance to make sure that they are compliant with the ARTA law and the ease of doing business," he said.
Recently, the Office of the President issued Memorandum Circular No. 57, ordering national government agencies and LGUs to submit their updated Citizen's Charter and set up their electronic business one-stop shops, both major provisions of RA 11032.
Non-compliance may result in administrative sanctions, the issuance read.
The regional inspections are part of ARTA's cARTAravan to boost awareness on the agency's ease of doing business and anti-red tape initiatives and also to go down to the grassroots level to inspire a whole-of-nation action against red tape.
ARTA will visit other LGUs in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and the Cordillera Administrative Region in the coming days. It will also inspect LGUs in the Visayas region next week and other regions by next year. (PNA)
