THE CIVIL Service Commission (CSC) on Wednesday called on government offices to review and improve their procedures, citing persistent reports of slow service delivery despite a 2018 law on ease of doing business.

Based on reports by the commission’s Contact Center ng Bayan (CCB), majority of complaints related to the quality of government frontline services were about “slow service,” which consistently ranked as the topmost concern since 2013. 

CSC Commissioner Aileen Lourdes A. Lizada, in a statement, said agency heads should ensure the implementation of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, which prescribes processing times.

“We should always remember the 3-7-20 rule. Whether it is during the pandemic or not, our processing times should be in accordance with the law, that’s why we should review our systems and procedures,” Ms. Lizada said in Filipino in a statement.

“The parts which are slow, the parts which are sources of complaints, we should fix all of these. We as part of the government should be the ones to adjust, not the public.”

Under the ease of doing business law, applications or requests should be acted upon within three days for simple transactions, seven days for more complex transactions, and 20 days for highly technical transactions. 

Failure to comply with these prescribed periods can result in six months of suspension from service for the first offense and dismissal from service on the second offense. 

The CCB is a feedback platform where the public can ask for information and help with government frontline processes. It can be accessed through the CSC’s landline, mobile phone, email, Facebook page, and website. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan 

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