The city government of Taguig announced Wednesday it has received an “excellent rating” from the Civil Service Commission for its continuing program against red tape and other forms of corruption in city hall.
“We are ecstatic to again receive this achievement. It shows that Taguig, as a community, is very committed to its advocacy in delivering exemplary public service to the people,” said Mayor Laarni Cayetano, adding such a rating was the third such citation for the city from the commission.
She said the local government will continue its best practices in government procedures and will not cease to find ways to provide convenience to the transacting public.
In its 2016 report card results, the CSC, the implementing body of the government’s Anti-Red Tape Act, found Taguig as one of the most compliant cities in the country, with all the sub-areas covered by the ARTA survey conducted from March to December last year.
The areas of the survey include the Citizen’s Charter, Anti-Fixer Campaign, wearing of Identification Cards and nameplates, No Hidden Costs, Public Assistance and Complaint Desk, No Lunch Break, Frontline Service Provider, Service Quality, Physical Setup and Layout, Basic Facilities, and Respondent-Client Satisfaction.
The CSC collated the data by sending personnel who anonymously conducted interviews of taxpayers or by posing as taxpayers who transact with government frontline offices, including Business Permits Licensing Offices, treasury, health services, and civil registry.
City chief license officer lawyer Joy Panga-Cruz said Taguig always strives to enhance its procedures for frontline services, while keeping them aligned with the provisions of the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.
To help maintain these standards in day-to-day frontline operations, Public Assistance and Complaint Desks are situated in all the 16 frontline offices, Cruz added.
The complaint desks are manned by specially trained personnel known as Officers of the Day who are tasked to assist the transacting public. The frontline offices strictly observe the “no noon break” policy, by keeping open the windows for transactions during the entire work hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The CSC conducted the ARTA survey in 2016 and included 1,109 government offices—597 first- to sixth-class cities and municipalities, 213 local water districts, 53 state universities and colleges, and 100 Land Bank of the Philippines branches.
The commission initiated the recognition of these offices based on their ratings under the ARTA Report Card Survey.
Since the implementation of the ARTA, government agencies have installed various mechanisms to reduce red tape and exhibit customer-driven response to efficiently deliver public service.
The CSC closely monitors these acts of curbing red tape through the survey, an instrument used to check agency compliance with the ARTA provisions, and to gauge citizens’ satisfaction with the quality of government services.
Agencies rated as “Excellent” in the RCS (those obtaining a numerical rating from 90 to 100), are awarded the CSC Seal of Excellence. The awardees receive a plaque of citation and cash prize of P100,000 from the commission, which the agencies can utilize for further improvement of their frontline service delivery.