Gov’t agencies must submit list of pending contracts to ARTA

Government agencies have been directed to submit a list of their pending contracts to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) before December 9 amid moves to hasten the processing of transactions.

ARTA Executive Director Jeremiah Belgica signed a memorandum circular seeking the status of government contracts pending since November 11, 2019 and the recommended action.

Memorandum Circular No. 2019-024 was issued after President Duterte ordered agencies to decide on these government contracts on or before December 15, according to Belgica. The President had earlier scored the slow transactions in government and imposed a timeline on the heads of agencies to decide on the pending contracts by the middle of December.

“We will require them to submit the list of contracts that have not been acted upon so we will know which are pending before the President’s December 15 deadline,” Belgica said in Filipino in his latest Facebook video.

He said the ARTA intends to look into how the government agencies are dealing with these pending contracts. He said anyone who deliberately sits on applications or requests and prolongs the processing may face administrative sanctions.

“The President has often reminded government workers to simplify [procedures] and make things faster,” he said.

Under the memorandum, the agencies must list down their pending contracts for study, review, revision, and amendment since November 11, 2019. The list must also include the status of these contracts, recommended action, names and signatures of the head of agent and personnel who prepared it, and agency contact information.

Covered by the memorandum are government offices in the Executive branch and local government units, government-owned or -controlled corporations, and other state entities involved in business-related and non-business transactions.

Belgica also reminded the agencies to comply with Republic Act No. 11032, the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

Under the law, government agencies are required to act on simple transactions within three days, complex transactions in seven days, and highly technical transactions in 20 days.