Salceda wants cedula abolished, gov’t processes streamlined

MANILA, Philippines — As part of the push to modernize government services, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda filed a measure seeking to abolish community tax certificate or “cedula” as a requirement for transactions.

The abolition of cedula is among the salient provisions of House Bill No. 8455 or the “Clean and Efficient Government Act of 2020,” which aims to simplify inefficient government processes and abolish redundant government requirements.

Under Salceda’s bill, cedula shall be removed as required proof of residency or identity for all national government processes, and as a prerequisite in engaging in business.

“The cedula has become obsolete for almost all intents and purposes. It’s time we phase it out, as it adds nearly an entire day to most government transactions that require it,” Salceda said in a statement.

“The cedula was established when the use of government identification cards was not yet widespread. That is no longer the case. As a government requirement, punitin na natin ang cedula (let’s scrap it),” the lawmaker added.

Salceda pointed out that cedula, as a proof of identity and residency, will be made redundant especially once the National ID system is rolled out.

“The cedula has been found to be an inadequate form of identification and an ineffective tool for local government collection, and is hence redundant in most occasions,” Salceda said.

Salceda’s bill likewise pushes for other reforms such as the following:

• Single-contact, single-day business registration system to allow businesses that pose no threat to the common good to immediately do business upon registration;
• Single-patient, single-record system to reduce hospital administrative burden and reduce patient waiting time before treatment and mitigate fraud in PhilHealth claims;
• Single-registration for mandatory social contributions such as SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG to reduce the need for redundant transactions to establish identity and registration with different agencies;
• Online TIN application and fully online services for small taxpayers and wage earners;
• Electronic payment system for all required government payments;
• To allow citizens to settle fees and charges remotely;
• Online taxpayer account for filing and payment of almost all non-large taxpayer taxes;
• National ID for businesses;
• Expanded personnel capacity for highly technical transactions, where needed;
• Recognition of electronic signature in most transactions; and
• Portability of socially invested programs.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier signed a measure authorizing him to accelerate and streamline regulatory processes and procedures for new and pending applications and renewals of local and national permits, licenses, clearances, authorizations, and certifications in times of national emergency.

KGA