Slow Government Service: What the Ease of Doing Business Law Says

Section 3 says the Act applies to "all government offices and agencies including local government units (LGUs), government-owned or -controlled corporations".

Every office must post a Citizen's Charter for its services (Section 6). For each service, it must show:

• the checklist of requirements;
• the procedure;
• the person responsible for each step;
• the maximum time to finish the process;
• the documents the applicant must present;
• the fees, if any; and
• the procedure for filing complaints.

The office may not go beyond its charter. The employee who receives an application must immediately point out any missing requirement, and the missing items "shall be limited to those enumerated in the Citizen's Charter" (Section 9(a)(2)). The applicant gets an acknowledgement receipt with the name of the responsible officer and the date and time of receipt.

Section 9(b)(1) sets these limits, counted from receipt of the complete application or request:

The time may be extended only once, for the same number of days. Before the time runs out, the office must notify the applicant in writing of the reason for the extension and the final date of release. Processing times are suspended in case of force majeure or system failure.

Other rules in Section 9:

• No application may be returned "without appropriate action". If it is disapproved, the office must send a formal notice with the reason within the processing time.
• A denial must be "fully explained in writing", with the name of the person who denied it and the grounds.
• Documents need at most three signatures.
• People inside the office before the end of working hours must be served, even during lunch break and after regular hours.
• Each office must have a public assistance or complaints desk.

Section 10 says that if an office "fails to approve or disapprove an original application or request for issuance of license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization within the prescribed processing time, said application or request shall be deemed approved". Two conditions apply: all required documents were submitted and all required fees were paid.

The acknowledgement receipt together with the official receipt for the fees "shall be enough proof or has the same force and effect" of the license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization. For renewals, the license is automatically extended.

Limits in the implementing rules:

• automatic extension or renewal does not apply to licenses or permits that had already expired when the application was filed (Rule VIII, Section 3);
• for offices performing quasi-judicial functions, automatic approval applies only to the issuance of a license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization (Rule VIII, Section 1(b));
• on complaint, with the receipts, and after checking that all documents and fees were complete, ARTA issues a declaration of completeness and orders the office to issue the approval, extension or renewal (Rule VIII, Section 4).

Automatic approval covers only the documents the Act names. It should not be assumed for other kinds of requests.

Section 21 says that any person who performs, or causes the performance of, these acts is liable:

• refusing to accept a complete application without due cause;
• imposing requirements not listed in the Citizen's Charter;
• imposing costs not reflected in the Citizen's Charter;
• not giving written notice of a disapproval;
• not delivering the service within the processing time without due cause;
• not attending to people inside the office before the end of working hours and during lunch break;
• failing or refusing to issue official receipts; and
• fixing, or colluding with fixers, for money or other advantage.

A fixer is any person who, with access to people working in a government office, "facilitates speedy completion of transactions for pecuniary gain or any other advantage or consideration" (Section 4(e)).

Section 22 sets these penalties:

Under the implementing rules, the same act repeated counts as a second offense, while different acts done once each all count as first offenses (Rule XIII, Section 4).

The Act and its rules name these channels. The law itself does not give hotline numbers.

• The office itself. Every office must have a public assistance or complaints desk, attended to even during break time, and must set up hotlines, SMS or other ways to receive complaints (Section 9(h); IRR Rule VII, Section 9). The Citizen's Charter must state the procedure for complaints.
• Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA). Section 17 lets ARTA start an investigation on its own or upon a complaint, refer it to the proper agency, and assist complainants in filing cases with the Civil Service Commission, the Ombudsman and the courts. Under the rules, a complaint may be an initial complaint, or a formal complaint that is written, sworn to and supported by evidence. Anonymous complaints may be given due course if detailed enough (IRR Rule XIV).
• Civil Service Commission and Ombudsman. Section 24 vests administrative jurisdiction over violations in the CSC or the Office of the Ombudsman. The rules say the CSC receives, hears and decides complaints against erring government employees (IRR Rule XI, Section 2).

Yes. In Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, Inc. v. Energy Regulatory Commission (2022), the Court ordered a government commission to act on an application and said an email that did not fully explain the grounds could not count as a denial "as required under Section 9(c) of R.A. No. 11032". In Quezon for Environment v. Medialdea (2024), the Court upheld an automatic approval rule for energy projects and pointed to the Act as its "statutory anchor".

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Grace applies for a certificate at a city office with complete documents and pays the fee. The Citizen's Charter lists it as a simple transaction, so the office must act within 3 working days, extendible once with written notice (Section 9(b)(1)). If the office does not act on her original application in time, it is deemed approved, and her acknowledgement receipt and official receipt have the same force and effect as the certificate (Section 10).

Ramon is told at a municipal office to bring a document that is not in the Citizen's Charter. Imposing a requirement not listed in the charter is a violation under Section 21(b). He can bring it up at the office's complaints desk or with ARTA.

The implementing rules let ARTA act on complaints received in any form, including electronic means. Talk to a lawyer if a denied or delayed permit is costing your business money, if you want to file a formal administrative or criminal complaint against an official, or if you need a court order to make an office act. For the steps of getting a business permit and barangay clearance, see Barangay clearance for a business permit and our government guides.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines.