The Anti-Red Tape Authority has named the Food and Drug Administration, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Land Registration Authority as the most red tape-ridden agencies.
In a press briefing Wednesday, Director General Jeremiah Belgica said ARTA is monitoring those “priority” agencies because of a number of complaints and motu propio investigation.
Belgica said those three needed to shape up, but also commended them for the decreasing number of complaints in their offices.
“We have seen that they really need to shape up…We saw the problem in those agencies that is why we are focusing on them,” he told Palace reporters.
Belgica warned other government agencies to also be on their toes and get rid of corruption within their processes.
President Rodrigo Duterte, during his fourth State of the Nation Address in July called out the LRA, Land Transportation Office, Social Security System, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Pag-IBIG Fund to “drastically improve their service” after receiving the most number of red tape complaints from the public.
Belgica recently met with the representatives of those agencies to get updates on the streamlining of systems and procedures as well as status of their complaints mechanism.
ARTA is also set to file a case before the Office of the Ombudsman today, Oct. 17, against a provincial governor for violating the Ease of Business Act.
“It is prohibited to delay the release of government permits without reason,” Belgica said.
The agency previously filed a complaint against San Nicolas Mayor Lester de Sagun of Batangas due to his refusal to grant a building permit reportedly without justifiable cause.
Belgica said there will be more cases to follow.
