Bill pushes 24/7 online service desk in gov’t agencies

INQUIRER.net stock images

MANILA, Philippines — A party list lawmaker wants government agencies to set up their respective 24/7 Front-line Service System to accept public online queries and extend their operating hours for in-person transactions.

AGRI party list Rep. Wilbert Lee has filed House Bill No. 10426, or the 24/7 Front-line Government Services Act, which requires national and local government offices to provide a list of “zero contact services” they can deliver without physical interaction. These should be made available to all Filipinos with online access seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Under the draft measure, government front-line services and response teams must also operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. between Mondays and Saturdays for in-person transactions.

READ: Metro Manila LGUs adjust working hours

Suggested agencies

Among the government offices that should implement extended hours, according to HB 10426, are the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Land Transportation Office, Professional Regulation Commission, Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Home Development Mutual Fund, Government Service Insurance System, Philippine Postal Corp., Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and Philippine National Police.

According to Lee, his measure will “give people who are mostly working or studying [from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.] during weekdays a chance to avail [themselves] of government services without compromising their jobs or daily tasks.”

“This way, the hassle of going to the [government office] is needed only when the document is ready to be released,” he added, pointing out that Filipinos will no longer need to go on leave from work or even wait for the agency concerned to open just to follow up or initiate the processing of documents.

HB 10426 also tasks government offices to ensure there are enough personnel to carry out the functions of the 24/7 response team and implement longer operating hours.

Lee noted that continuous government operations and services would increase the productivity of the different agencies and help more Filipinos. “The Filipino people deserve better services so we should demand [these],” he said.