MANILA – Solid North Party-list Rep. Ching Bernos and Abra Lone District Rep. JB Bernos are pushing for the passage of a measure seeking the creation of a single window system for all social services in all local government units (LGUs) to ensure easier access and faster service delivery.
House Bill No. 7465 proposes the establishment of an Accelerated Citizen-Centered Social Services (ACCESS) System in all LGUs that would serve as a unified access point for government social services through both physical service centers and a digital platform.
The ACCESS System shall facilitate access, intake, coordination, referral, and tracking of various government social services.
These include social welfare and assistance services offered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development; health and social insurance services, including membership registration, updating, verification, and information services of PhilHealth; social security and retirement services, including registration, contribution inquiries, and benefit application assistance for the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System; housing and savings services, including membership and program assistance under the Pag-IBIG Fund.
Also included in ACCESS are employment and labor assistance programs of the Department of Labor and Employment and Public Employment Service Offices; civil registration and identity services, including facilitation of birth, marriage, and death registration under the Philippine Statistics Authority, and services related to the Philippine Identification System; local gov’t social services, including programs for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, solo parents, scholars, indigent residents, and other priority sectors.
The ACCESS System shall serve as the primary entry for those availing government social services; provide standardized intake, documentation assistance, and referral services; coordinate with concerned agencies for application processing and follow-up; and establish a unified tracking or reference system for service requests.
It shall also provide information on eligibility, requirements, and timelines; and maintain both physical service centers and digital access platforms.
Rep. Ching Bernos said the proposed measure is in line with the principle that local governments should be the people’s first line of help.
“Through ACCESS, Filipinos can simply go to their respective LGUs to avail of social services that they need. Hindi na dapat pinahihirapan at kailangang tumalon pa sa iba’t ibang opisina ang mga mamamayan para malaman kung ano ang tulong na maaaring ibigay sa kanila ng pamahalaan (The people should not be burdened by making them hop to different offices to find out what assistance they could get from the government),” she said in a news release on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Rep. JB Bernos underlined the need for the government to continue working to simplify its processes, particularly with regard to social services, considering the urgent nature of these concerns. (PNA)