Government agencies, instrumentalities, and local government units are given every March 7 of each year to submit their ‘Zero Backlog Report’ or plan as the Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA) strictly enforces the 3-7-20 day processing period on all transactions with the government.
A memorandum circular 2022 will be issued on March 7 to remind all government agencies, instrumentalities, and LGUs of the March 7 annual deadline for the submission of their “Zero Backlog Report”.
All government agencies are mandated to implement a Zero Backlog Program 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. This is in furtherance of their responsibility to render fast, efficient, convenient, and reliable service.
ARTA also issued the circular to effect the annual report since 2020, but agencies have not really complied with the requirement.
To intensify its campaign against government red tape, the ARTA Advisory Council of has adopted a Memorandum Circular on the Zero Backlog Report and to establish March 7 as the annual 3-7-20 Day, which will be the day of assessment for government agencies with pending transactions.
Secretary and ARTA Director General Jeremiah G. Belgica said the “Zero Backlog Report” from government agencies will include an inventory of all pending simple, complex, and highly technical transactions. To further ensure their compliance, ARTA will be conducting random monitoring of government agencies.
Belgica said government agencies will be able to comply with the Zero Backlog Program by subscribing to the prescribed processing time which is also stated in R.A. 11032.
According to the law, simple transactions should be processed within three days, complex transactions in seven days, and highly technical transactions in 20 days.
"We want these policies in place not because we are forcing government agencies to approve all the applications and requests that are submitted before their offices, but because we want them to act on all of the applications and avoid the risk of accumulating backlogs," the ARTA chief said.
"I have always said it is better to have a denied application than one that is sat upon. Because a denied application has remedies while an application that is not acted upon is in a perpetual bureaucratic limbo," he added.
The newly adopted issuance aims to provide guidelines on automatic approval and automatic extension of license, clearance, permit, certification, and authorization.