BAGUIO CITY (PIA) —“We can only claim success as public servants if the very people we are bound to serve are happy with what we are doing – service that is truly transparent, accountable and citizen centric.”
Secretary Ernesto Perez, director-general of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), emphasized this point during the grand Ease of Doing Business (EODB) fair at the University of the Philippines-Baguio on May 25, 2025.
The grand EODB fair served as a one-stop-shop where government information, programs and services booths were readily available for the public to take advantage of.
Agencies that set up booths include the Civil Service Commission, Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Bureau of Investigation, Public Attorney’s Office, Government Service Insurance System, Home Development Mutual Fund (PAGIBIG), Philippine Statistics Office, Social Security System, Department of Agriculture, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Transportation.
Perez assured the public of ARTA’s continuing commitment to eradicate corruption and red tape by introducing programs and services that would streamline and digitalize government processes, as well as ensuring a transparent, accountable and citizen-centric government bureaucracy.
“The EODB law is really game-changing because it requires a change in the mindset of people in government and that whoever comes to us will be treated as a very important person. We are here as public servants to serve the people”, Perez emphasized.
He also encouraged everyone to see the bigger picture that each document that is digitalized, each unnecessary step that is eliminated, each form that is simplified are not just technical adjustments but are acts of service.
“Let me end with a challenge to each and every one of us here – for us to do more, let us inspire other LGUs, government agencies to follow the Baguio City example, let us continue to foster partnership with the private sector, to find innovative solutions, let us work together for a future where red tape is a relic, a thing of the past and seamless citizen-first service is the standard service across institutions,” Perez said.
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong lauded ARTA and its partner agencies for bringing their services directly to the people, demonstrating the President’s agenda of good, transparent and efficient governance.
“This is how we bring government closer to the people. This is how we support the President’s vision – by standing together to institutionalize a whole-of-society approach to governance. I call on all our line agencies present today, let this be more than just an event. Let it be an opportunity to provide honest-to-goodness service, serbisyo na patas at walang pinapanigan, serbisyong malaya sa impluwensyang pampulitika, at serbisyo na hindi pumipili ng kliyente at inuuna ang tunay na nangangailangan.”
Perez, Magalong, ARTA Northern Luzon RFO regional chief Sheila Rosemarie Songgadan, and UP Chancellor Joel Addawe led the opening and ribbon cutting of the May 25 grand EODB fair .
The event highlights the first “Ease of Doing Business Month” this May pursuant to Proclamation No. 818 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. on March 4, 2025. **JDP/CCD-PIA CAR
