ARTA to cover 3,000 government agencies in its report card survey

MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is targeting to cover around 3,000 government agencies next year in its report card survey (RCS 2.0), which measures the quality of service of government agencies.

In an interview with reporters yesterday, ARTA director general Ernesto Perez said the target of around 3,000 government agencies is only about a third of the total government agencies in the country.

The target is significantly larger than the 50 target government agencies covered in the pilot implementation of the RCS 2.0, which it conducted from October to November, according to Perez.

“So the period was a bit short,” Perez said.

“All the sectors were covered, it’s just that in view of limited time for the pilot testing, we only targeted 50 agencies but the national government agencies, local government units, state universities and colleges were represented,” Perez said.

He pointed out, however, that ARTA was not able to cover local water districts in the pilot implementation of the survey.

“But next year starting early second quarter, we will already target one-third of the total universe (government agencies) and all sectors will be covered,” Perez said.

Perez said the RCS focuses on measuring the quality, efficiency and adequacy of government services through evaluation of the streamlining initiatives of government agencies and local government.

Among the tools of measurements to be used by the survey include compliance reports, survey questionnaire and inspection checklist, client satisfaction measurement (CSM), and agency awards and recognition.

The RCS was previously implemented by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

However, with the enactment of Republic Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, the implementation of the RCS was designated to the ARTA, in coordination with the CSC and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Of the 50 agencies targeted to be covered in the pilot implementation, 40 agencies were qualified for the survey, while 10 agencies were disqualified.

“Out of that, about 10 of the 40 agencies were able to get a grade higher than 85.  85 and above means they are really compliant with our requirements. 85 and below needs improvement because we really want to improve the quality [of government service],” Perez said.

Perez said the RCS previously implemented by the CSC was incorporated into the new version.

“However, with the new version, there is a need to look into customer satisfaction of external customers and should also be complemented with the satisfaction of internal customers, thus the need to incorporate internal services of the government agencies in the RCS,” Perez said.

He explained that major changes of the RCS with the RCS 2.0 under the ARTA are the wider coverage of the agencies to be subjected into the RCS and the government services included.

“Under RCS 2.0, all of the government services will be covered. As for the services, not only the external (frontline) services will be covered in RCS but the internal services will be measured too,” Perez said.

He said the results of the RCS would still be used as one of the basis in granting rewards and incentives to government agencies.

The ARTA official said the implementation of the RCS is in line with the goal of the government to elevate its service delivery to new heights, as well as to shape a better life experience for Filipinos.

“The development of this Report Card Survey 2.0 and Harmonized Client Satisfaction Measurement is rooted in the aspiration to transform how the government serves the people,” Perez sai.

For 2023, Perez said the ARTA remains committed to continue its efforts in streamlining and automating government services.