Over 8,000 applications and requests submitted before government offices were declared automatically approved and/or renewed with the intervention of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).
Data showed that as of Feb. 2022, at least 8,507 applications and requests that were submitted with complete requirements and payment but were not processed within the prescribed processing time, were declared automatically approved and renewed since 2019.
Secretary Jeremiah B. Belgica, ARTA Director General, explained that ARTA is responsible for determining the surrounding factual conditions that cause the automatic approval or renewal of the said applications and requests as stated in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
Citing R.A. 11032, the ARTA chief said that government offices should only take three days to process simple transactions, seven days for complex transactions, and 20 days for highly technical transactions.
“We are implementing these policies to help government agencies deliver better services and minimize and avoid accumulating their backlogs,” ARTA Sec. Belgica said during the Kapihan sa ARTA on Tuesday, 1 March 2022.
“These do not necessarily mean that government agencies must approve all the applications and requests being submitted before their offices. It only means that they should immediately act on all of them,” he added.
The ARTA chief encouraged government agencies to be more proactive in addressing the applications and requests submitted before their offices.
“The heads of agencies are held accountable and liable for the compliance of their government agencies to the 3-7-20 prescribed processing time and Zero Backlog Policy. That being said, agency heads must ensure their compliance with the law and not wait for ARTA to step in,” he said.
The Kapihan sa ARTA was held in line with the agency’s weeklong event carrying the theme “Zero Backlog Policy, Paigtingin! 3-7-20, Laging Sundin!”
The said theme aims to boost awareness on the important provisions of R.A. 11032, particularly the 3-7-20 prescribed processing time and Zero Backlog Policy. It also aims to strengthen the push for more anti-red tape and streamlining initiatives in the Philippine government.
The event officially kicked off on Monday, 28 February 2022, when ARTA officials presented the salient features of the Memorandum Circular on the Zero Backlog Program to its stakeholders.
The said MC was adopted and endorsed by the Ease of Doing Business and Anti-Red Tape (EODB-ART) Advisory Council on its 18th Council Meeting on 23 February 2022.
During the event, the Authority will also be holding one-on-one meetings with its identified priority agencies to hear their catch-up plans on the Zero Backlog Program.
The event will culminate on 7 March 2022 when ARTA will recognize government agencies, as well as private stakeholders, that were found to be compliant with the said provisions of R.A. 11032.