After the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao leg of the Anti-Red Tape or ARTA Caravan, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) takes the campaign to Palawan in collaboration with the Partnerships for Integrity and Jobs Project Office (Project I4J) and City Government of Puerto Princesa.

The three-day ARTA Caravan, which aims to engage the citizenry in improving public service delivery by increasing awareness on the anti-red tape campaign and on citizens’ rights and responsibilities as clients or consumers of government services, will be held from 26-28 September 2016 at the Atrium, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

“To keep up with the gains in the implementation of the ARTA Program, we have to come up with innovative ways to raise the public’s consciousness that they are entitled to the highest quality of service from the government. Banking on the positive feedback received during the first three legs of the Caravan, we have to push this initiative especially now that we have Project I4J and the City Government of Puerto Princesa onboard,” said CSC Chairperson Alicia dela-Rosa Bala.

Project I4J is a consortium of six institutions including the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), the Centrist Democracy Political Institute (CDPI), the League of Cities of the Philippines, League of Municipalities of the Philippines, and the League of Provinces of the Philippines.

During the caravan, participants can get first-hand experience at availing themselves frontline services from participating government agencies, including:

• Pag-IBIG Fund – online membership registration, verification of membership savings and loan entitlement, Loyalty Card application;
  Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) – Labor Education for Graduate Students, Labor Employment Education Services, Jobs Fits, Career Guidance, Special Program for Employment of Students, PhilJobnet, kiosk, job recruitment;
• Philippine Statistics Authority-National Statistics Office (PSA-NSO) – answer queries on NSO service matters;
• Land Transportation Office (LTO) – answer queries on LTO service matters;
• Social Security System (SSS) – issuance of SSS number, online verification of contributions and loan status, screening and receiving of loans and benefit applications, info kiosk;
• Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) – promote bank products and services, conduct recruitment;
• Civil Service Commission (CSC) –answer queries on civil service matters and offer CSC publications;
• Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) – online registration, Member Data Record application and inquiries, ID and UMID application, updates on membership;
• Bureau of Internal Revenue – queries and provision of tax information;
• National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – clearance application and issuance;
• Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) – passport appointment system; and
• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) – e-services through GWAPS kiosk;
• Commission on Higher Education - request for CHED data/information

Aside from offering key frontline services, the ARTA Caravan will feature a Town Hall Meeting where Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Rodriguez Bayron, Project I4J Project Director Dr. Peter Koeppinger, European Union Ambassador Franz Jessen and Director IV Maria Luisa Salonga Agamata of the CSC’s Public Assistance and Information Office and ARTA Project Manager answer questions from participants as well as explain the relevance of cutting red tape; good governance sessions facilitated by Bantay.ph; and integrity orientation and dialogue with the barangays in Puerto Princesa.