Recto: Next admin should put up 24-hour call centers for gov't agencies

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines, which has a huge Business Process Outsourcing sector, should have a 24-hour government call center for common transactions like getting passports and permits.

In a statement over the weekend, Sen. Ralph Recto urged the next administration to consider pooling the resources of the 10 government agencies with the most clients to put up a common government hotline.

“If a refrigerator maker has a 24-hour helpline, why can’t a government agency, which earns more money from more clients, not maintain one?” Recto said.

He said the hotline would particularly benefit Overseas Filipino Workers, who would be able to save time on going to the offices of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, Overseas Workers' Welfare Administration, National Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies that they will need to transact with.

He said that if the resources cannot be pooled, the next president should still consider putting up 24-hour hotlines at agencies that deal with a large number of people.

“One good candidate,” Recto said, is the Philippine Health Insurance Corp (PhilHealth). “If HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) can afford to maintain 24-hour call numbers, then PhilHealth certainly could,” he said.

He said that agencies like the Department of Foreign Affairs, NBI, POEA and LTO should also be able to afford to put up help lines because of their income from issuing government IDs and certifications.

The senator said that while websites and apps can help with basic information, "there are complicated queries that can only be answered by a human voice at the other end of the phone."