ARTA issues final warning to 8 gov’t agencies


The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has issued a Compliance Order with final Notice of Warning to eight government agencies for failing to submit various anti red tape requirements.

ARTA identified the 8 eight government agencies as Bureau of Animal Industry; Bureau of Agricultural Research; National Council for Children’s TV; Office of Transportation Security; Parole and Probation Administration; Philippine Carabao Center; Philippine Rubber Research Institute; and Technical Cooperation Council of the Philippines. Other non-compliant agencies including local government units and government –owned and –controlled corporations are also expected to receive the said Order in the coming days.

These agencies failed to submit the requirements Certificate of Compliance (CoC),Citizen’s Charter Handbook, and/or Administrative Order (AO) 23 Compliance Report.

In the Compliance Order, ARTA required the abovementioned agencies to submit their deficiencies through e-mail until tomorrow, November 20. “Let this serve as a final warning that your agency’s/office’s failure to comply with this Order and other relevant issuances of the

Authority shall warrant the filing of any and all appropriate action or case against you”, the Order

cited.

As of today, ARTA had already received the submission from the Philippine Rubber Research Institute. “We appeal to all the other agencies to please give this matter your urgent and  preferrential attention.

This kind of issuances, ito po ay higit pa sa pagpapaalala sa inyo na may mga karampatang kaso na maaaring maipataw sa inyo. This is about and for the  people to whom we owe nothing less than a transparent and efficient public service,” reminded Director General  Jeremiah Belgica.

The deadline for agencies to submit their new Citizen’s Charter to ARTA, as provided for by the Republic Act 11032, was last 6 December 2019, 90 working days from the effectivity of the law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations. ARTA had also released two memorandum circulars, i.e.

MC 2019-002 and MC 2019-002-A, in reference to the deadline of the submission of the agencies’ Citizen’s Charter Handbook covering external services. The said Circulars provided the agencies with a set of guidelines for implementing their Citizen’s Charter in compliance with the law.

The deadline of submission of the updated Citizen’s Charter which include both external and  internal services and of the CoC, on the other hand, were further extended from 31 March 2020 to 25 July 2020 in consideration to the then-continuing Enhanced Community Quarantine over Luzon.

In February 2020, the President also issued AO 23 which required all national government agencies covered by R.A. 11032 to provide ARTA, copy furnished to the Office of the President, with a Compliance Report on how their respective Citizen’s Charters conform with the law. The deadline of submission of which had also been extended until 25 July 2020.