DILG Region III has completed the administration of the Anti-Red Tape Act – Report Card (ARTA-RCS) Survey in all the 7 provinces, 13 cities and 117 municipalities in the region.
The ARTA-RCS project was implemented pursuant to Republic Act 9485, otherwise known as the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, which requires all government offices to draw up their Citizen’s Charters. Section X of the Republic Act states that all offices and agencies providing frontline services shall be subjected to a Report Card Survey which shall be used to obtain feedback on how provisions in the Citizen’s Charter are being followed and how the LGUs are performing insofar as frontline services are concerned. It shall also be used to obtain information and/or estimates of hidden costs incurred by clients to access frontline services which may include, but is not limited to, bribes and payment to fixers.
The Citizen’s Charter is an official document that communicates, in simple terms, the service standards or pledge on frontline services provided by a local government to citizens as it describes the step-by-step procedure for availing a particular service, the person responsible for each step, and the guaranteed performance level that may be expected from that service. Frontline service, on the other hand, refers to a process or transaction between a customer and a local government involving an application for any privilege, right, permit, reward, license, concession, or for any modification, renewal or extension of the enumerated application or a request which is acted upon in the ordinary course of business of a local government.
The ARTA-RCS rating of an LGU, as a result of the survey administered, is one of the criteria in the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) Silver and Gold Awards which will be implemented by DILG in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
