At least 100 clients composed primarily of urban dwellers, government employees, and students have availed of the different frontline services of the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) during the Grand Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Fair yesterday, May 25, at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Baguio Campus.

Conducted by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) in partnership with the City of Baguio and UP-Baguio, said activity served as a One-Stop Shop of government primary services bringing together 19 participating government agencies. This is part of the month-long celebration of the EODB Month this May pursuant to Proclamation No. 818. The proclamation is also in support of the ARTA and the government’s continuing mission to eliminate red tape, promote efficient and transparent service delivery, and institutionalize a whole-of-society approach to improve how the government interacts with citizens and businesses.

ARTA Director General Sec. Ernesto V. Perez, in his opening remarks, emphasized that the EODB is a changemaker law because it accordingly requires a change in the mindset of the people working in the government – treating whoever comes to the office as very important persons. He added that success can only be claimed by public servants if those very people whom they are bound to serve are happy with what they are doing – a service that is truly transparent, accountable and citizen-centric.

For the DA-CAR, it provided planting materials (vegetable seeds, citrus seedlings) and inputs (mokusaku or wood vinegar) for production support, and conducted orientations on the different registration, accreditation, and licensing services. Information Education Communication (IEC) print materials were also provided to complement the orientations and to further promote the DA as a whole.

The planting materials were sourced from the Bureau of Plant Industry and the DA-CAR Field Operations Division-High Value Crops Development Program while the wood vinegars were produced by the Integrated Laboratories Division-Regional Crop Protection Center of the DA-CAR.

Sec. Perez thanked the participating agencies for responding to the invitation even on a Sunday as he hopes for more partnerships in the future, primarily on bureaucracy efficiency which is one of the 8-point socio-economic agenda of His Excellency Pres. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.