ARTA assistance lauded

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday thanked the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) for its assistance in improving its quality of service.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the ARTA provided them trainings and guidance in the adjustments of their procedures to comply with the standards of ARTA.

He said the Bureau is re-engineering its processes in response to the call of the President although they have actually streamlined already in 2019. Given the unique environment that the pandemic has set, however, they feel the need to readjust their procedures to better serve the public in these trying times.

These learnings are very important in improving the quality of government service.

The BI chief shared that key officials of the BI underwent an online training with the ARTA last 19 February, where they were briefed on implementing the Citizen’s Charter, as well as assessing the impact of regulations.

“These learnings are very important in improving the quality of government service,” Morente said. “ARTA is a valuable partner of the agency and has really given our men a better insight on management,” he stated.

Likewise, the agency underwent an audit from the ARTA last Friday, led by ARTA Director General Atty. Jeremiah “My” Belgica, who was able to point out areas for improvement.

“We invited all our heads for the session for them to see and hear specific concerns that need to be addressed. Some people think audits are something to be afraid of,” said Morente. “On the contrary, audits give us an opportunity to view the agency from the outside to be able to see things that need to be improved,” he added.

Morente shared that some improvements they are planning to do are the automation of key processes to make applications faster.