PhilHealth tops client satisfaction; LTO fails

HR practitioners from the government and private sector hold their annual conference in Cebu. (from left) Robert Martinez, Civil Service Commission acting chair; Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell; and Adrian J. Robles, president of Philippine Society for Training and Development discuss this year’s theme. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

Who’s doing a good job in frontline public service?

The  Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) offices topped last year’s anti-red tape survey.

Four service offices of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) failed.  The LTO offices, however, have since made changes in their operations.

In the latest Report Card Survey (RCS), covering the period March to May this year, the LTO offices except the Talisay office obtained a  rating of “Good.”

The survey, which is undertaken by the Civil Service Commission every year, measures client satisfaction and provides feedback on government frontline services.

Based on the latest survey, 24 service offices of 10 government agencies in Central Visayas passed.

Two offices were rated “Excellent,” 18 were rated “Good,” and four were found “Acceptable.”

Karin Litz P. Zerna, CSC regional director, said the PhilHealth office in Tagbilaran received the highest rating of 91.22 percent. It was followed by PhilHealth Cebu City office with a rating of 90.32 percent.

The lowest ratings, or “Acceptable,” were received by LTO-Talisay (76.17 percent), Land Registration Authority – Cebu province (77.41 percent), HDMF-Mactan (78.47 percent), and Philippine Statistics Authority -Dumaguete (79.8 percent).

A failing mark is 69.99 percent and below.

Offices of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), National Statistics Office (NSO), Social Security System (SSS) an++d Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) received a rating of “Good,” equivalent to 80 to 89.99 percent.

The survey is undertaken yearly in line with the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.

“Last year in Region 7, there were 10 offices that were rated excellent, one outstanding, 43 good, three acceptable and four failed,” CSC Commissioner Robert S. Martinez said in a press conference yesterday.

LTO Lapu-Lapu City was one of the four offices that flunked the survey last year. It was rated “Good” this year.

“If an office fails, we have the Service Delivery Excellence Program that they undergo to help them improve their services,” said Martinez.

Zerna said they give more weight on customer satisfaction.

“There are two areas. One is the checklist and the second is client feedback,” she said.

The checklist includes: a Citizen’s Charter that contains detailed commitments on transaction steps, cost, and time; implementation of anti-fixing measures; wearing of identification (IDs) by frontline staff; no hidden transaction costs; establishment of a Public Assistance and Complaints Desk; and observance of the “No Noon Break” policy.

To get client feedback, 30 respondents are interviewed as they exit the offices on the effectiveness of frontline service providers, service quality, physical setup of the office and availability of basic facilities.

“That’s where most of the offices have problems and we help them improve the areas identified by the respondents as the area they need to work on more,” Zerna said.

It takes about two months for some to improve their processes, according to Zerna.

Martinez, in his executive letter on the State of CSC, reported that 96.18 percent or 984 of the 1,023 surveyed offices passed the ARTA-RCS last year.

This year, the target is to bring the passing percentage to 98 percent.

The ARTA-RCS is one of the programs that CSC is conducting to ensure that the government successfully transforms from a transactional human resource to a strategic human resource.

Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell said this helps achieve the mutual goals of both Philippine and Australian governments of promoting prosperity, reducing poverty and enhancing political stability.

Tweddell said the Austalian government is extending $30 million grant for human resource and organizational development through the Philippines Australia Human Resource and Organizational Development Facility (PAHRODF).

CSC has partnered with PAHRODF and the Philippine Society for Training and Development (PSTD) for the third Public Sector HR Symposium that officially opened yesterday at the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel and Casino.