NEDA XI comes up with own Citizen's Charter
by JD Abangan
Davao City (1 October 2009) -- The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) XI has come up with its own Citizen's Charter distinctly expressing its way of delivering frontline services locally.
After a thorough discussion among the members of its Citizen's Charter Task Force, NEDA has identified two frontline services.
It has to provide technical assistance to provinces and highly urbanized cities on development planning, policy formulation, investment programming, project development, and project monitoring and evaluation.
It also has to evaluate project proposals, ranging from simple concept papers to full blown feasibility studies submitted by local government units, national government central and regional offices, the business sector and civil society for endorsement by the Regional Development Council (RDC).
NEDA's Citizen's Charter presentation starts off with its vision that expresses its public service commitment to constituents of the Davao Region.
Expressed in five paragraphs, its mission statement comes next that discusses its stakeholders, it's based area, its organizational values and its desired service-delivery impact at the regional level.
During the launching ceremony, Civil Service Commission (CSC) XI Assistant Regional Director Lilia Clamor cited NEDA XI as one of the few regional office of national government agencies that had had been allowed by their central offices to locally come up with their own Citizen's Charter.
Clamor said that regional offices of national line agencies are waiting for the crafting of the Citizen's Charter in their national offices.
All government agencies and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) including local government units are required to draw up their Citizen's Charter as mandated by Republic Act 9485 or An Act to Improve Efficiency in the Delivery of Government Service by Reducing Bureaucratic Red Tape, Preventing Graft and Corruption and Providing Penalties thereof. It is popularly known as Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.
RA 9485 defines Citizen's Charter as an official document, a service standard, or a pledge, that communicates, in simple terms, information on the services provided by the government to its citizens.
The Charter describes the step-by-step procedure for availing a particular service and the guaranteed performance level that clients may expect for that service.
RA 9485 puts particular focus on frontline services which refer to the process or transaction between clients and government offices or agencies involving applications for any privilege, right, permit, reward, license, concession, or for any modification, renewal or extension of the enumerated applications and or requests which are acted upon in the ordinary course of business of the office or agency concerned.
Other than the rule on Citizen's Charter, RA 9485 also provides for rules regarding the accountability of heads of offices and agencies, who according to the law, bear the primary responsibility to implement all other rules of the law and "shall be held accountable to the public in rendering fast, efficient, convenient and reliable service."
It also provides rules on accessing frontline services which should be rendered within five working days in response to requests involving simple transactions and 10 working day for those that take complex transaction. (PIA XI)
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