Anti-Red Tape Act creates efficient govt service

Policy and purpose; declared governance goals

Section 2 declares State policy to promote integrity, accountability, and proper management of public affairs and public property.
Section 2 directs the State to establish effective practices aimed at the prevention of graft and corruption in government.
Section 2 requires maintaining honesty and responsibility among public officials and employees.
Section 2 mandates appropriate measures to promote transparency in each agency’s manner of transacting with the public.
Section 2 requires a program for simplified procedures to reduce red tape and expedite transactions in government.

Coverage: who is bound; who is excluded

Section 3 applies to all government offices and agencies, including local government units and government-owned or -controlled corporations that provide frontline services as defined in the Act.
Section 3 excludes persons performing judicial, quasi-judicial, and legislative functions from coverage of the Act.

Definitions governing key concepts

Section 4 defines “Simple Transactions” as requests or applications requiring only ministerial actions or presenting only inconsequential issues for resolution.
Section 4 defines “Complex Transactions” as requests or applications necessitating discretion in resolution of complicated issues, determined by the office concerned.
Section 4 defines “Frontline Service” as the process or transaction involving applications for any privilege, right, permit, reward, license, concession, or modification, renewal, or extension of those applications/requests, acted upon in the ordinary course of the agency’s business.
Section 4 defines “Action” as the written approval or disapproval made by a government office or agency on an application or request.
Section 4 defines “Officer or Employee” as a person employed in a government office or agency required to perform duties related to processing the client’s application or request.
Section 4 defines “Irrevelant requirement” as any document or performance of an act not directly material to resolution of the request’s issues or not needed for the application.
Section 4 defines “Fixer” as any individual who facilitates speedy completion of transactions for pecuniary gain or any other advantage or consideration, including individuals with access to government office workers and whether or not in collusion.

Service delivery reforms and standards

Section 5 mandates that all offices and agencies providing frontline services regularly undertake time and motion studies, evaluate and improve transaction systems and procedures, and re-engineer them when necessary to reduce red tape and processing time.
Section 6 requires every government agency and office (including GOCCs, and local/district units) to set up service standards called the “Citizen’s Charter.”
Section 6 requires Citizen’s Charter presentation through:
- Information billboards posted at the main entrance or at the most conspicuous place, and
- Published materials written in English, Filipino, or the local dialect.
Section 6 requires the Citizen’s Charter to detail:
- the procedure to obtain a service;
- the person/s responsible for each step;
- the maximum time to conclude the process;
- the document/s to be presented by the customer, if necessary;
- the amount of fees, if necessary; and
- the procedure for filing complaints.
Section 7 makes the head of the office or agency primarily responsible and accountable to the public for rendering fast, efficient, convenient and reliable service.
Section 7 declares that all transactions and processes are deemed made with permission or clearance from the highest authority having jurisdiction over the government office or agency concerned.

Frontline service access rules; timelines; limits

Section 8 requires all government offices and agencies to adopt these procedures and standards:
Acceptance of Applications and Request
- All officers or employees must accept written applications, requests, and/or documents submitted by clients.
- The responsible officer or employee must acknowledge receipt in writing or by clearly printed information showing:
  - the officer/employee’s name,
  - the unit where connected, and
  - the time and date of receipt.
- The receiving officer or employee must conduct a preliminary assessment to promote more expeditious action.
Action of Offices
- The assigned officer or employee must act on applications/requests within the period stated in the Citizen’s Charter.
- The Citizen’s Charter maximum time shall not be longer than:
  - five working days for simple transactions, and
  - ten (10) working days for complex transactions,
    from the date the request or application was received.
- Under unusual circumstances, the maximum time prescribed above may be extended; the extension must be indicated in the Citizen’s Charter as the period for delivery for the requested frontline services.
- The office/agency must notify in writing the requesting party of:
  - the reason for the extension, and
  - the final date for release of the extended frontline service(s).
- No application or request may be returned to the client without appropriate action.
- If disapproved, the officer/employee who rendered the decision must send a formal notice to the client within five working days from receipt, stating:
  - the reason for disapproval, and
  - a list of specific requirement/s the client failed to submit.
Denial of Request for Access to Government Service
- Any denial must be fully explained in writing, stating:
  - the name of the person making the denial, and
  - the grounds for the denial.
- Any denial is deemed made with permission or clearance from the highest authority having jurisdiction.
Limitation of Signatories
- Any document must limit signatories to a maximum of five (5) signatures, representing officers directly supervising the office or agency concerned.
Adoption of Working Schedules to Serve Clients
- Heads of offices and agencies providing frontline services must adopt working schedules to ensure clients already within the premises prior to the end of official working hours are served:
  - during lunch break, and
  - after regular working hours.
Identification Card
- All employees transacting with the public must have an official identification card that must be visibly worn during office hours.
Public Assistance/Complaints Desk
- Each office or agency must establish a public assistance/complaints desk.

Automatic permit and license extension

Section 9 provides that if a government office or agency fails to act on an application and/or request for renewal of a license, permit, or authority subject for renewal within the prescribed period, the permit/license/authority is automatically extended until a decision or resolution is rendered on the renewal application.
Section 9 provides an exception: the automatic extension does not apply when the permit/license/authority covers activities that pose danger to public health, public safety, public morals or to public policy, including natural resource extraction activities.

Monitoring and feedback requirements

Section 10 requires all offices and agencies providing frontline services to undergo a Report Card Survey initiated by the Civil Service Commission, in coordination with the Development Academy of the Philippines.
Section 10 mandates the survey to obtain feedback on:
- how provisions in the Citizen’s Charter are followed, and
- how the agency is performing.
Section 10 requires the survey to obtain information and/or estimates of hidden costs incurred by clients to access frontline services, including bribes and payment to fixers.
Section 10 requires a feedback mechanism in all covered agencies and requires incorporating results in the agency’s annual report.

Violations and administrative penalties

Section 11 states that after compliance with substantive and procedural due process, these constitute violations with corresponding penalties:
Light Offense includes:
- refusal to accept application and/or request within the prescribed period or refusal to accept any document submitted by a client;
- failure to act on an application/request or failure to refer back a request that cannot be acted upon due to lack of requirements within the prescribed period;
- failure to attend to clients within premises before end of official working hours and during lunch;
- failure to render frontline services within the prescribed period without due cause;
- failure to give written notice of disapproval; and
- imposition of additional irrelevant requirements other than those listed in the first notice.
Section 11 provides light offense penalties:
- First Offense: Thirty (30) days suspension without pay and mandatory attendance in Values Orientation Program.
- Second Offense: Three (3) months suspension without pay.
- Third Offense: Dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public service.
Section 11 defines Grave Offense as fixing and/or collusion with fixers in consideration of economic and/or other gain or advantage.
Section 11 provides grave offense penalty:
- Dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public service.

Criminal liability for fixers; court-imposed penalty

Section 12 provides that fixers, in addition to the administrative framework in Section 11, face imprisonment not exceeding six years.
Section 12 provides a fine range for fixers of not less than Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00) but not more than Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (P200,000.00).
Section 12 provides that the court may impose both fine and imprisonment at its discretion.

Administrative, civil, and criminal liability interplay

Section 13 provides that a finding of administrative liability under the Act does not bar filing criminal, civil, or other related charges under existing laws arising from the same act or omission.

Who decides administrative cases

Section 14 vests administrative jurisdiction over violations of the Act in either the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), or the Office of the Ombudsman, as determined by applicable laws and issuances.

Immunity and discharge as witness for informants

Section 15 provides that a public official or employee, or any person charged with another under the Act, who voluntarily gives information pertaining to an investigation or willingly testifies is exempt from prosecution for the cases where the information and testimony are given.
Section 15 provides that discharge may be granted and directed by the investigating body or court upon application/petition of any respondent/accused-informant and before termination of the investigation, if these conditions are met:
- there is absolute necessity for the respondent/accused-informant’s testimony;
- there is no other direct evidence available for proper prosecution except the testimony;
- the testimony can be substantially corroborated on material points;
- the respondent/accused-informant has not been previously convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude; and
- the respondent/accused-informant does not appear to be the most guilty.
Section 15 provides that evidence supporting the discharge becomes part of the investigation records automatically.
Section 15 provides that if the investigating body or court denies the request for discharge as a witness, the respondent/accused-informant’s sworn statement is inadmissible as evidence.

Implementing rules; timeline

Section 16 requires the Civil Service Commission, in coordination with the Development Academy of the Philippines, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to promulgate necessary implementing rules and regulations within ninety (90) days from the Act’s effectivity.

Separability and repealing provisions

Section 17 provides a separability rule: invalidity or unconstitutionality of any provision does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.
Section 18 provides that all provisions of laws, presidential decrees, letters of instruction, and other presidential issuances incompatible or inconsistent with the Act are amended or repealed.