LRA harnesses power of IT to weed out fixers in land titling

MANILA, Philippines - It’s a “feel good” situation when someone is instantly at the end of the line to answer your call. No cold and detached answering machine. No “corporate distance” when the firm seems unreachable.

This is now the happy case of the Land Registration Authority (LRA), the country’s sole repository of land titles which has brought public service a notch higher with the LRA Aksyon Agad Center.

LRA deputy administrator Ronald Ortile said: “We launched the Aksyon Agad Center to provide our clients with an immediate helpline so that the entire LRA, the central office and the Registry of Deeds offices can respond to these concerns within the shortest possible time.”

“Some of the matters coursed through the other channels could have been acted upon immediately had they been directly coordinated with us. With the Aksyon Agad Center, we are in a better position to address the concerns of the public, private sector as well as other government agencies.” 

The center was built upon a simple idea: to act on customer concerns immediately. In the past, these matters went through several channels such as the Registry of Deeds offices and the Department of Justice (LRA’s mother agency). There was no central inventory of these concerns, which made it hard for the LRA leadership to monitor.

 Through the one-stop action center, the public can inquire, request for assistance, file complaints, give feedback or suggestions and follow up on their transactions with the LRA’s central office and the RD offices nationwide. There are three ways to contact the ‘Aksyon Agad Center:’ send text (0919-3549809/0905-2586289), email ([email protected]) and use landline (02-9211383). It is operational from Mondays to Fridays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Ticketing System

Prior to the launch of the Aksyon Agad Center timed with the agency’s 114th anniversary, LRA already had a service center with 40 staff to address the needs of the 164 RD offices. For the new project, the agency added six more staff members – two people are assigned to the SMS contact point, two for general emails and two more for other contact points. 

It works like a call center. A ticket number is issued to a customer when they contact the center through phone, email or text. The same ticket number should be used when making a follow-up.

For easier transaction, the customer is advised to provide his/her full name, contact number, concerned RD office, transaction type, electronic primary entry book (EPEB) number and official receipt number.

Whatever the nature of the concern – a complaint, inquiry, suggestion, or a commendation – the center makes it a point to acknowledge them within two-three hours from receipt.

Ortile added that a team determines to whom the concern will be referred for further action. For example, a query about how a customer will settle the estate of a deceased parent requires legal action; therefore this would be referred to the legal department.

Customer education

One of the challenges the center encounters is coping with the high volume of concerns and queries. While the RD offices implement the same process, not all offices have the same volume of transactions. “The sheer volume of transactions constrains us from meeting our targets, but we try our best to meet our goals as provided by the Civil Service,” Ortile said.

Ortile cited another major challenge when customers who use the LRA-AAC fail to give LRA the EPEB number immediately. Every transaction, after being assessed, is given an official receipt. The EPEB number is found at the upper right hand portion of the receipt. RA needs this unique reference number to check the nature and status of a transaction.

Customers can visit the LRA website (www.lra.gov.ph) to get instant up-to-date status of their transaction with any RD office through the LRA Online Tracking System (LOTS). All they need is to fill out the information needed.

Just like any other system, LRA’s is a work in progress. Ortile believes that every public service initiative has to be a partnership between the government and the people.

And as far as LRA is concerned, the public can be sure that LRA will continue to find ways to continuously enhance its services and incorporate the power of information technology in its system. Catherine June Bite-Bismark