Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

THIRTEENTH CONGRESS.

First Regular Session
192

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE JOSE C. DE VENECIA

Explanatory Note

Bureaucratic red tape, regarded as a way of life in most government agencies, frustéates
clients by requiring them to go through long series of routinary procedures in order to
secute vital government services. This normally happens in the processing of permits,
licenses, awards, applications for privileges and benefits, and other related transactions.

The presence of bureaucratic red tape emanates from the propensity of government
agencies to over regulate that have led to complex paper works and resulted in time

consuming procedures. The existing manuals, systems and procedures and the insistence of
government agencies to maintain proper monitoring and recording of all transactions add to
the problem. The system of requiring each personnel to sign for approval every routinary
procedure involved in a transaction to ensure compliance to rules and regulations worsens
the situation, This does not only lengthens the procedures, it also opens avenues for bribery
and corruption through the long process since the public would rather pay their way for an
immediate result than wait for an unreasonable length of time.

The proposal provides a maximum of fifteen and thirty working days for concerned
government agencies to act on simple and complex transactions, respectively. It limits the
number of signatories to only the officers and employees directly supervising the specific
unit where a particular transaction is being acted on. It also institutionalizes a Report Card
Survey that shall assess the performance of different agencies in compliance with the
provision of the Citizen’s Charter and a Congressional Oversight Committee on Red Tape
Reduction to investigate complaints from the public.

The passage of this bill would facilitate government service delivery by simplifying the
procedures and shortening the long routinary steps in government transactions. It will
reduce cost of manpower, paper transport, and waiting time of service clients which could
otherwise be used more productively.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of the bill is earnestly sought.

C. DE VENECI£JR.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
Fisst Regular Session

192

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE JOSE C. DE VENECIA

AN ACT .
IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY IN THE DELIVERY OF GOVERNMENT
SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC BY REDUCING BUREAUCRATIC RED TAPE AND
PREVENTING GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Titk. — This Act shall be known as the “Red Tape Reduction Act
of 2004”.

SEC. 2, Declaration of Policy. — Tt is hereby the declared policy of the State to maintain
honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against
graft and conuption. Towards this end, all government offices and agencies are hereby
mandated to re-engineer and to formulate a program for the improvement of their
transaction systems and procedures to reduce bureaucratic red tape and to ensure the

effective delivery of services to the public.

SEC. 3. Coverage. - This Act shall apply to all government offices and agencies
including local government units (LGUs) and govemment-owned or -controlled
corporations with original charters except those agencies and offices that exercise judicial,
quasi-judicial and legislative functions.

SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. ~ As used in this Act, the following terms are defined as

follows:



(@) “Simple transactions” refer to requests or applications submitted by clients of a
government office or agency which necessitate action or which present only few issues for
resolution by an officer or employee of said government office.

(b) “Complex transactions” refer to requests or applications submitted by clients of a
government office which necessitate the use of discretion in the resolution of complicated
issues by an officer or employee of said government office

(©) “Frontline service” refers to transactions involving clients and government
agencies and offices such as applications for any privilege, right, permit, reward, license,
concession, or for any modification, renewal or extension of the enumerated applications
and/or requests which are acted upon in the ordinary course of business of the agency or
office concerned.

(@ “Action” refers to the written approval or disapproval made by a goverment
office on the application or request submitted by a client for processing,

(©) “Officer or employee” refers to a person employed in a government agency or
office requited to perform specific duties and responsibilities related to the application ot
request submitted by a client for processing.

( “Irrelevant requirements” refer to documents which contain information not
directly material to the resolution of the issues presented by the request or application
submitted by the client.

(@) “Fixer” refers to a person who is not officially involved in the operations of a
particular government office but has access to people working therein and, in collusion with
them, facilitates speedy completion of transaction without complying with the regular rules

and procedures of said office in consideration of pecuniary gain.

SEC. 5. Re-engineering of Systems and Procedures. ~ All agencies and offices which provide
frontline services are hereby mandated to regularly undergo evaluation and modernization of
theie transaction systems and procedures and to re-engineer the same if deemed necessary to

reduce bureaucratic red tape and to expedite services to the public.

SEC. 6. Citizens’ Charter, — All government agencies, including departments, bureaus,
offices, instrumentalities, or government-owned or controlled corporations, or local
government or district units shall set-up its Citizens’ Charter either in the form of

information billboards, which shall be posted at the main entrance of the offices or at the



most conspicuous place, or in the form of published handbooks written either in English,
Filipino, or in the local dialect, that detail:

(@) each step of procedure to obtain a particular service;

(b) person/s responsible for each step;

(©) maximum time to conclude the process;

@ document/s to be presented by the customer, if necessary;

(©) amount of fees, if necessary; and

(procedure for filing complaints in cases of violation of the provisions of the

Citizens’ Charter.

SEC. 7. Accountability of Heads of Agencies and Offices. ~ The head of agency ot office shall
be held accountable to the public in rendering fast, efficient, convenient and reliable service.
All transactions and processes are deemed to have been made with the permission or
clearance from the highest authority having jurisdiction over the government agency or

office concerned.

SEC. 8.Acvessing Frontline Services. - The following shall be adopted by all government

agencies and offices:

(@) Acceptance of Applications and Requests

(1) All officers or employees shall accept written applications, requests, and/or
documents being submitted by clients of the agency ot office.

The responsible officer or employee shall acknowledge receipt of such application
and/or request by writing or printing clearly thereon his/her name, the unit where he/she is
connected with, and the time and date of receipt.

(3) The receiving officer or employee shall perform a preliminary assessment of the
request if possible so as to promote a more expeditious action on requests.

(4) Absence of certain information in the application and/or request or incomplete
supporting documents shall not be a valid ground for an officer or employee to refuse

acceptance of the said application of request.


(0) Adoption of Working Schedules to Serve Clients

Heads of agencies and offices which render frontline services shall adopt appropriate
working schedules to ensure that all clients who are within their premises prior to the end of
official working hours are attended to and served even during lunch break and after regular
working hours.

(© Action of Offices

(1) All requests and/or applications submitted shall be acted upon by the assigned
officer or employee during the period stated in the Citizens’ Charter which shall not be
longer than fifteen (15) working days in the case of simple transactions and thirty (30)
working days in the case of complex transactions,

(2) Under unusual circumstances, the maximum time prescribed may be extended:
Provided, That the agency or office concerned shall notify the requesting party in writing of
the reason for the extension and the final date of release of the frontline service/s requested.

3) No application or request shall be returned to the client without appropriate
action. In case an application or request is disapproved, the officer or employee who
rendered the decision shall send a formal notice to the client within five (5) working days
from receipt of the said request and/or application, stating therein the reason for the
disapproval including a list of the specific requirement/s which the client failed to submit.

@ Limitation of Signatories

(1) The number of signatories in any written application, request or document
submitted by the client of the office shall depend on the kind of transaction to be acted
upon by the assigned officer or employee.

(2) The heads of government agencies or corporations concerned shall determine and
identify the number of signatories necessary for any simple, complex, or frontline service
transaction,

3) As much as possible, the signatories shall be limited only to the officers and
employees directly supervising the specific unit therein which appertain to such particular
transaction.

(©) Denial of Request for Access to Government Service

Any denial of request for access to government service shall be fully explained in
writing, stating the name of the person making the denial and the grounds upon which such

denial is based. Any denial of request is deemed to have been made with the permission or



clearance from the highest authority having jurisdiction over the government agency

concerned,

SEC. 9. Automatic Renewal of Permits and Licenses. — If a government agency ot office
fails to act on an application and/or request for renewal of a license, permit or authority
within the prescribed periods, the previous license, permit or authority subject for renewal
shall automatically be extended until a decision or resolution is rendered on the application
for renewal: Provided, That the automatic extension shall not apply when the permit, license,

or authority covers activities which are regulated because these pose danger to public health

or public safety.

SEC. 10. Report Card Survey. — All agencies and offices which provide frontline services
shall be subjected to a Report Card Survey to be initiated by the Civil Service Commission in
coordination with the Development Academy of the Philippines, which shall be used to

obtain feedback on how provisions in the Citizens’ Charter are being followed and how the

agency is performing,

‘The Report Card Survey 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.

2. 11. Violations. — The following shall constitute violations of this Act:

(@) Refusal to accept applications and/or requests or any document being submitted
by a client;

(b) Failure to act on an application and/or request ot failure to refer back to the client
a request which cannot be acted upon due to lack of requirement/s;

(©) Failure to attend to clients who are within the premises of the agency or office,
concerned prior to the end of official working hours and during lunch break;

(@ Failure to render frontline services within the prescribed period on any application
and/or request without due cause;

(© Failure to give the client a written notice on the disapproval of an application or

request;


() Imposition of additional irrelevant requirements other than those listed in the first
notice; and

(g) Collusion with fixers in consideration of economic and/or other gains.

SEC. 12. Penalties. — The following penalties shall be imposed on any officer or
employee who is found guilty of the acts mentioned in the preceding section:

(1) Upon first offense, the penalty of suspension for not more than thirty (30) days
and a fine equivalent to one (1) month salary;

2) Upon second offense, suspension for a minimum of six (6) months and a fine

equivalent to three (3) months salary;

3) Upon third offense, suspension for one (1) year and a fine equivalent to six (6)
months salary; and

(4) Upon fourth offense, dismissal from service and perpetual disqualification from
holding any public office. Any officer or employee who commits any of the acts enumerated
in the preceding section in consideration of economic and/or other gains shall, upon

conviction, be imposed the penalty of prision correcciona/ in its maximum period.

SEC. 13. Prosecution, not barred. — Prosecution under this Act shall not be a bar to the
filing of other charges arising from the same act or omission which are punishable under

other existing penal laws.

SEC. 14, Annual Reports. — All agencies and offices which provide frontline services
shall keep an accurate and up-to-date record of payments, contributions, remittances and

other monies received from clients and shall include the same in their annual reports.

SEC. 15. Jurisdiction. — Any violation of the provisions of this Act shall be within the
exclusive and concurrent administrative jurisdiction of the Ombudsman and the Civil
Service Commission. However, jurisdiction over the criminal aspects of this Act is

exclusively vested on the Ombudsman.

SEC. 16. Congressional Oversight — A Congtessional Oversight Committee on Red Tape
Reduction, heteinafter referred to as the Committee, is hereby constituted. The Committee

shall be composed of the Chairmen of the Committee on Civil Service of the Senate and the


House of Representatives and four (4) additional members from each house to be designated

by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President, respectively.

The Committee, shall among others, in aid of legislation, review and monitor the
implementation of this Act; require the Office of the Ombudsman and the Civil Service
Commission to furnish the Committee copies of the Citizen’s Report Card and other
pertinent documents including, but not limited to, complaints from the public; call on the
Ombudsman and the Chairperson of the CSC to report to the Committee the status of

public complaints; and conduct its own investigations whenever deemed necessary.

SEC. 17. Jmplementing Rules and Regulations. — he Civil Service Commission shalt
promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the proper and effective implementation
of this Act.

SEC. 18. Separability Clause. — If any of the provisions of this Act shall be declared
invalid or unconstitutional, such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining

provisions of this Act.
SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. — All provisions of laws, presidential decrees, letters of
instruction and other presidential issuances, which are incompatible of inconsistent with the

provisions of this Act, are hereby deemed amended ot repealed.

SEC. 20. Effetiviy. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,