The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is requesting for a P40-million increase in its 2022 budget to fully support its various programs, projects, and initiatives.
In its accomplishment report released on Tuesday, ARTA said that its P289,359,000 budget for 2022 is barely enough to fund its entire operation.
“But with additional funding, ARTA will be able to launch more programs, projects, and other initiatives to speed up the government’s effort to improve the country’s business climate and deliver the necessary services to Filipinos in the most effective and efficient way,” the report read.
Apart from the plea to increase their budget, the anti-red tape watchdog also appealed to lawmakers to expand the agency’s roles and functions so it can perform its functions better.
ARTA pointed out in the report that it has initiated its reorganization to increase its organizational capacity to at least thrice its current 208 approved plantilla positions.
“The agency will submit a proposal to the Office of the President, through the Department of Budget and Management [DBM], to increase its manpower to at least 700 personnel,” ARTA said in its report.
Earlier, ARTA Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica wrote to former President Rodrigo Duterte to ask for emergency anti-red tape powers and amendments to Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
In the memorandum, the ARTA chief said one of the agency’s main challenges is that its streamlining efforts are only recommendatory and not mandatory for government agencies.
Further, among the additional powers that the anti red-tape watchdog seeks are subpoena and contempt powers and preventive suspension powers to enforce the ease of doing business law “more strongly” among government agencies, local government units (LGUs), and other government instrumentalities.
ARTA also proposes that government agencies should be mandated to adopt and implement the authority’s findings and recommendations on streamlining and reengineering. They should also allot a certain percentage of their approved budget for an Ease of Doing Business or Anti-Red Tape Plan and Program.
“Each government agency must also have resident streamlining and reengineering officers who would serve as business process auditors or officers whose singular focus is to continually review, propose, implement, and report on the business processes and systems of the agency,” ARTA added.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, ARTA published on their Facebook page a certification they received from the Commission on Audit (COA), rendering an unmodified opinion on the fairness of ARTA’s presentation of financial statements as of December 31, 2021. The certification was issued on June 22,2022.
An unmodified opinion, COA said, is rendered when the commission concludes that the financial statements are free from material misstatements and are prepared in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards.