20 August 2022 – Last week, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) headed to Coron, Palawan as part of its nationwide drive to onboard Local Government Units (LGUs) in adopting the Smart Management And Real-Time Application (GO.SmARTApp).

Go.SmARTApp is an online platform that will help LGUs streamline and automate their services and integrate with existing systems of the government in an effort to seamlessly transition to e-Governance.

While the platform’s rollout was jumpstarted by ARTA in a series of visits to LGUs across the country, its full implementation will eventually be led by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of the Information and Communications Technology (DICT). This means that ARTA and its various partners in the private and public sectors will play an active support role in the government’s transition to e-governance.

This is in line with Section 26 of Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 mandating ARTA and other key agencies to coordinate with the DICT to “automate business-related transactions by developing the necessary software and technology-neutral platforms and secure infrastructure that is web-based and accessible to the public.”

The ARTA’s GO. SmARTApp Team led by Undersecretary Carlos F. Quita, Deputy Director General for Administration, Finance, and Special Programs, met with Coron local chief executive, Mayor Mario T. Reyes Jr for a courtesy call. It was followed by an orientation of ARTA’s mandate and salient points of its enabling law, and an interactive, live demonstration of GO.smARTApp to the municipality’s key offices and departments.

The team also discussed the ARTA Volunteers Training Program aimed to mobilize national government agencies, local government units, the private sector, and the masses to adopt a whole-of-nation approach against red tape.

Volunteers have been a key part in some of ARTA’s initiatives such as the establishment of ARTAmbayan in Quezon City and Matnog, Sorsogon, ARTA Auxiliary Group, and ARTA Action Center in SM Manila. These facilities serve as complaints and assistance venues for citizens to avail of.

Since early this year, the GO.smARTApp Project Team has conducted orientations and interactive demonstrations in 21 LGUs, 7 of which have expressed interest in adopting the system.

The pilot testing for the online platform is currently in place in Basey, Samar and Palompon and Tacloban City in the province of Leyte.