The Insurance Commission (IC) has signed a circular letter dropping the need to submit clearances coming from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other agencies in line with the Duterte administration’s push to reduce red tape in government offices.
Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said NBI and barangay clearances that were required by companies as part of their documentary needs are being done away with under the recently signed circular.
“We excluded NBI clearance, barangay clearance and other clearances from the list of documentary requirements to be submitted to us is in line with the intentions of the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007,” Funa said.
In the past, the clearances from the law-enforcement agencies were required to be submitted to the IC to help in determining the fitness and propriety of the organizers and administrators of its regulated entities, processing of an application for acquiring control over any domestic insurance company and processing of application for issuance or renewal of an adjuster’s license.
“This is also to expedite compliance with the various requirements of this commission in line with the directive of President Duterte to reduce documentary submissions by removing redundant requirements,” he added.
The circular letter also covers other clearances from various law-enforcement agencies of the government, according to the IC. In effect, it is incumbent upon the regulated entities of the IC to conduct a background check on their respective directors, officers, employees, agents, brokers, adjusters and other personnel.
“The new circular letter does not proscribe companies from requiring the submission of NBI, police, barangay and other law-enforcement clearances as condition or requisite in their employment processes to assess the fitness and propriety of their directors, officers, employees, agents, brokers, adjusters and other personnel,” Funa said.
The issuance of the new rule is part of the commission’s continuous review of its issuances and processes to withdraw or amend contradicting and outdated issuances and to streamline bureaucratic processes, according to the IC.
In terms of the documentary requirements for Qualifying Insurance Agents’ Examination under the IC, a similar circular letter will be issued, excluding the submission of NBI, police, barangay and other law-enforcement clearances, as part of the requirements.
Last year Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III pointed out that the government is eyeing to tap new, affordable technologies that will transform state agencies into catalysts for improving the ease of doing business in the Philippines and boost the inflow of foreign investments, along with vastly upgrading the quality of frontline services to the people.
He explained that these initiatives are in line with Duterte’s marching orders to his Cabinet to cut red tape in the bureaucracy and make the entire government more responsive to the needs of the people.