Ian Alfredo Magno ONE of the very first salvos the present administration put in place was 8888.  This simple recall is a hotline serving as a feedback mechanism dedicated to complaints and grievances concerning poor government service, and yes, corruption.  Government employees who deliberately delay any public service to seek and/or accept any suborn over what is officially required, better bid goodbye to their posts. This hotline, more than just receiving complaints, is designed to provide swift response and appropriate action.  The President himself pronounced that any government agency or employee who fails to respond to complaints received through hotline 8888 would be subjected to administrative sanctions. This simple innovation is not actually something new in the Philippines.  We are, in fact, used to making complaints – Filipinos quite mastered this habit like it was some second nature.  We also have private media, via print, radio and TV programs catering to such predicaments.  But they could only do so much.  What makes this recently installed 8888 formidably different is its 24/7 operations, full-time dedicated personnel and, above all else, the serious, no-nonsense, teeth grinding backing from Digong himself.  8888 packs a solid punch, so to speak. Meanwhile, back in 2007, Republic Act No. 9485 “An Act to Improve Efficiency in the Delivery of Government Service to the Public by Reducing Bureaucratic Red Tape, Preventing Graft and Corruption, and Providing Penalties Therefor,” was passed.  Briefly, R.A. 9485 is otherwise known as the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007. Among the important highlights of this crucial legislation is the creation of the Citizen’s Charter pursuant to Section 6 thereof, to wit: “Sec. 6. Citizen’s Charter. - All government agencies including departments, bureaus, offices, instrumentalities, or government-owned and/or controlled corporations, or local government or district units shall set up their respective service standards to be known as the Citizen’s Charter in the form of information billboards which should be posted at the main entrance of offices or at the most conspicuous place, and in the form of published materials written either in English, Filipino, or in the local dialect, that detail: “(a) The procedure to obtain a particular service; “(b) The person/s responsible for each step; “(c) The maximum time to conclude the process; “(d) The document/s to be presented by the customer, if necessary; “(e) The amount of fees, if necessary; and “(f) The procedure for filing complaints” There goes one tip what to look for when visiting any government establishment. A very extremely important provision of the “Arta” is the criminalization of fixers who prey upon the public.  Hence, Section 12 of R.A. 9485 provides imprisonment and/or fine as penalties therefor, thus: “Sec. 12. Criminal Liability for Fixers. - In addition to Sec. 11 (b), fixers, as defined in this Act, shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment not exceeding six years or a fine not less than Twenty Thousand Pesos (P20,000.00) but not more than Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (P200,000.00) or both fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.” Section 11 (b), on other hand, penalizes government employees in collusion with these so-called fixers, to wit: “(b) Grave Offense - Fixing and/or collusion with fixers in consideration of economic and/or other gain or advantage. “Penalty - Dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public service.” Having a Top Executive who has a knack in implementing the very laws this country came about, we expect RA 9485 complemented by hotline 8888 and other laws (such as R.A. 6713, Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees) to fuel that Change long overdue in Philippine bureaucracy. (Lawyer Ian Alfredo T. Magno is an associate at Atty. Francis U. Ku & Associates, and is deputy legal officer at Philhealth. E-mail: ianalfredom@gmail.com)