CITIZENS Charter (CC), as an official document, a service standard, or a pledge that gives information on the services provided by the government to its citizens, is now actively being implemented by more local government units (LGUs) in Northern Mindanao.

Several local government units in the region are gearing up implementation of the Citizen's Charter by way of submitting their crafted charters to the Department of the Interior and Local Government Region (DILG) and to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in Northern Mindanao, respectively.

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LGUs with approved charters are Valencia City and Malitbog of Bukidnon.

Meanwhile, LGUs in Bukidnon that have submitted their drafts on these charters are Cabanglasan, Manolo Fortich, Impasugong, Dangcagan, Kitaotao, Lantapan, Quezon, Talakag, Maramag, Sumilao, Damulog, Pangantucan, San Fernando, Don Carlos, and Kibawe. On the other hand, the municipalities of Libona, Baungon, Kalilangan, and Malaybalay are in their drafting stage.

The Citizen's Charter is defined in the implementing rules of RA 9485, otherwise known as the "Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007" that requires all government offices including LGUs to formulate CC by June 2009. Said charter is a document that contains relevant information on the frontline services and goods provided by LGUs to its citizens and serves as the standard of their delivery of these services and goods to the public. The charter will guide citizens on how to quickly avail of these frontline government services at the community level.

Inclusion in the said draft submitted by these LGUs are their resolutions involving the making of charter, the vision and mission of the government office or agency, identification of the frontline services offered, and the recipients of such services, the step-by-step procedure to obtain a particular service, the officer or employee responsible for each step, and the maximum time to conclude the process, fees, and others.

These drafts, once reviewed by CSC, are expected to be referred back to the LGU for its actual implementation. Their respective charters are to be posted in billboards in conspicuous places in the community and in offices for the public's reference.

DILG-Northern Mindanao Regional Director Loreto T. Bhagwani sees these charters as very imperative in the effective performance of the LGUs and the national agencies as well. These charters shall also be essential in helping fight corruption and graft practices in the local government units and in the NGAs.

DILG is actively implementing this national program with the CSC and the Office of the Ombudsman. In the region, DILG had implemented Project Cure (Comprehensive and Unified Response to Eliminate) Red Tape to enhance the delivery of basic services to the people through the elimination of red tape practices.

Under this project, briefings on Citizen's Charter were made through provincial rollouts that started in Misamis Oriental and Camiguin last March 26-27, 2009 with around 160 participants. This activity continued in Bukidnon last April 2-4, 2009, Lanao del Norte on April 15-16, 2009, and Misamis Occidental on April 22-23, 2009 respectively. (Press release)