Solon wants NBI to stop requiring applicants to visit their office for clearance

Marikina City Representative Bayani Fernando wants the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to stop requiring applicants to personally visit their offices for a clearance certificate.

Fernando made the remark as House Minority Leader Benny Abante Jr. proposed a four-day workweek at non-frontline government agencies to help reduce traffic congestion during the holiday season.

According to Fernando, a four-day workweek is possible without burning out government employees with longer work hours if their workload will be reduced.

One way to do this, he said, is to streamline the bureaucracy by not asking too many requirements from individuals who make transactions with the government.

"Alisin na natin yung napakaraming mga requirement. Na kinakailangan clearance ng NBI, bakit naman kailangan pang pumunta?" Fernando said.

"Hindi na kailangan yung mga clearances na yan. Halimbawa nag-apply ka ng passport, edi gawin lamang ng Department of Foreign Affairs, ipadala sa NBI. I-email nila ang NBI, bahala na ang NBI," he added.

Fernando wanted to know if NBI actually captures erring individuals by giving out clearances.

"Ilan ba ang nahuli ng NBI dahil diyan sa pagkuha ng clearance? Baka naman iilan lang ang nahuli nila sa pagkuha ng clearance, ay tigilan na natin yun," he said.

The lawmaker said that it does not matter if the government loses revenues from clearance applications, so long as it does not reduce productivity at work.

"Mababawasan ang kita ng gobyerno, hindi bale na. Kesa naman dito ang nawawala sa atin ay P3.4 billion a day," he said.

At least two bills have been filed at the House providing for a flexible working arrangement and compressed workweek at companies.

House Bill 1670 removes the limiting "normal work hours" of eight hours per day in favor of a more flexible one, allowing employees to work at any time as long as they complete the required 48 hours of work per week.

Meanwhile, House Bill 1904 provides for a compressed workweek arrangement which reduces the normal work week to less than six days but retains the total 48 hours of work per week.

A technical working group meeting has been set to further discuss the provisions of bills after they were tackled by the House Committee on Labor and Employment earlier in the day. —LDF, GMA News