A
Citizens’ Charter is a document which represents a systematic effort to
emphasize the commitment of an Office/Organization towards its clients/citizens
on the standards of service, information, consultation, non-discrimination,
accessibility, courtesy and redress of grievances. In some cases, it also includes the
expectations of the Office from the client/citizen for fulfilling the
commitment of the office.
Thus, the government has declared as
a policy of the State to promote
integrity, accountability, proper management of public affairs and public
property as well as to establish effective practices aimed at the prevention of
graft and corruption, and to attain this end, the State shall maintain honesty
and responsibility among its public officials and employees, and shall take
appropriate measures to promote transparency in each agency with regard to the
manner of transacting with the public, which shall encompass a program for the
adoption of simplified procedures that will reduce red tape and expedite
transactions in government (Republic ActNo. 9485, Anti-Red Tape Law).
Pursuant
thereto, the Department of Agrarian Reform–Provincial Office (DARPO-Cagayan) in
Tuguegarao City, as directed by its head of office, Virgilio M. Acasili, Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer II (PARO II), has replaced and installed a permanent copy of the Citizens’ Charter on its
corridors as a ready reference for its clients to know what do to and where to
go for specific transactions pertaining to agrarian reform and rural
development. These consists of large tarpaulin posters mounted on aluminium
frames and placed on the walls along the office corridors for easy viewing by
the public.
DAR’s
Citizens’ Charter has the following components: (a) Vision and Mission Statementof the DAR; (b) The procedure to obtain a particular service, e.g., DAR
Clearance/Transfer Action, Land Use Conversion, Exemption, etc.; (c) The
person/s responsible for each step; (d) The maximum time to conclude the
process; (e) The document/s to be presented by the customer, if necessary; (f) The
amount of fees, if necessary; and (g) The procedure for filing complaints.
Republic
Act No. 9485 (Anti-Red Tape Law) applies to all government offices and agencies
including local government units (LGUs) and government-owned or controlled
corporations (GOCCs) that provide frontline services.
A
Citizens’ Charter aims to make the administration accountable and more citizen
friendly, to ensure transparency in government transactions and to guarantee the
right to information. /cds
