Cebu LGUs take steps to cut red tape

CEBU, Philippines - With President Rodrigo Duterte finally signing the executive order on Freedom of Information and his marching order to cut red tape in government, local officials are now taking the initial steps to heed both orders.

At the Capitol, Cebu Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino said they will look into the President’s FOI EO for the possible crafting of additional guidelines to Capitol's memorandum in relation to the issuance of public documents.

"We will look at the EO insofar as we can make it applicable to our circumstance," he said.

Tolentino, in a memorandum dated November 9, 2015, stated that there should be a written request for information and/or production of records and documents which should be approved in writing by the concerned department head.

He said the EO is directly for the national agencies but the LGUs are still enjoined to craft their own guidelines in line with the EO.

“We will see if there is anything in particular that the EO mentioned that we ought to include. Otherwise I’ll stand by my memo," he said.

He explained that he finds the existing memorandum "reasonable" particularly the requests that need clearance from a department head.

He said before only the Provincial Legal Officer is authorized to approve requests unlike now that department heads are allowed to grant requests.

"In fact we broaden the scope. By making requests accessible through the department heads and not just through one particular officer," he said.

Davide

In a separate interview yesterday, Governor Hilario Davide III said he has yet to read the EO but he felt elated with the development.

Davide said he does not prevent the release of information from Capitol, stressing that the administration has always practiced transparency.

He explained though the Capitol is following certain procedure and guidelines in the issuance of documents.

Davide earlier clarified that the memo is merely a protocol and is not a gag order.

On the other hand, Tolentino said the Capitol will try to hasten the processing of government permits and clearances in consonance with Duterte’s directive.

He believes that the three-day processing scheme is attainable.

"We will also try. That is his call to local government units. Mangita sad mi’g paagi nga taman three days," he said.

He said the delays are sometimes inevitable considering that procedures have to be followed.

Among the factors of delay is the volume of workloads of government employees.

"I don’t think the delays are intentional. It really happens with the volume of work or certain circumstances mahitabo g’yud na," he said.

"In government daghan man requirements that they have to adhere to because we are also conscious of COA audit. So we try to follow procedures as much as we can," he added.

Moreover, he said each department has a citizen's charter, which is a pledge to finish a particular request on time.

Cebu City

In Cebu City, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella is asking any members of the council to take the cudgel in sponsoring an ordinance that would complement the Anti-Red Tape Act.

“An ordinance has to be enacted to complement the anti-red tape law and also to heed the call of the President to lessen the circuitous procedure of securing business permits and all other regulatory issuances of a local government unit because once there is delay na gani, there is a breeding ground of corruption,” Labella told reporters.

He said the Anti-Red Tape Act has peculiar circumstances in each local government unit that is why an ordinance is needed to address such circumstances.

Labella said the City Council, which he presides, should study the passage of the ordinance so that the Anti-Red Tape Act will be fully implemented in the city.

Mandaue City

Meanwhile, Mandaue City Mayor Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing said he strongly supports the President’s order to improve government services and cut bureaucratic red tape.

"The President SONA is closely aligned on our direction that here in Mandaue City, nobody should be left behind," he said.

Quisumbing said he already established the Document Tracking System especially on business processes and transactions.

According to the neophyte mayor, he does not want the people to suffer queuing at City Hall. He said he also want to expedite the release of documents to applicants.

Vice Mayor Carlo Pontico Fortuna, the council presiding officer, said the legislative department assigned a Customer Service Relations Officer (CSRO) who shall attend to any needs, inquiries or concerns of any person with business or merely visiting the office.

"This is part of the continuing program of the Performance Government System (PGS) to make your government responsive to your needs," Fortuna said.

GSIS

For the Government Service Insurance System in Cebu, the agency is trying to come up with strategies heeding the President’s order, particularly on cutting the bureaucratic red tape.

“Although we still haven’t received a national directive from Manila but our team here planned to strategize and maybe also comply with the three-day turnaround,” GSIS Cebu Branch manager Vilma Fuentes said.

Fuentes said that for now, they are conforming to the rules and regulations stipulated under Republic Act 10154 or “An Act Requiring All Concerned Government Agencies to Ensure the Early Release of the Retirement Pay, Pensions, Gratuities and Other Benefits of Retiring Government Employees.”

GSIS benefits can be claimed in a maximum of 90 days but the agency, she said, can finish the process in two to three days as long as the records of the GSIS members are already reconciled.

“That is doable. We can do that as long as records are in place and nothing to reconcile already,” she said. — Kristine B. Quintas, Jean A. Demecillo, Garry B. Lao, May B. Miasco (FREEMAN)