MANILA – AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee has filed a bill seeking to institutionalize a 24/7 Frontline Service System (FSS) for online queries and assistance, and extended hours of operations for face-to-face transactions.
“Ang serbisyo ng gobyerno wala dapat pinipiling oras, dapat 24/7 (Government service should not choose hours, it should be 24/7),” Lee said in a news release on Monday.
Under House Bill (HB) 10426 or the "24/7 Frontline Government Services Act”, government offices shall provide a list of “Zero Contact Services” that can be delivered without face-to-face interaction, and can be made available 24/7 to all Filipinos who have access to the internet.
In line with the drive to make services more accessible, the frontline services and response team shall operate from Monday to Saturday with extended hours of 7a.m. to 7 p.m. for face-to-face interactions.
“This measure will give people who are mostly working or studying during weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. a chance to avail of government services without compromising their jobs or daily tasks,” he said.
Lee’s HB 10426 mandates government services to provide a working arrangement to ensure that there will be sufficient personnel to execute the function of the 24/7 response team and extended hours of service.
He said the bill is in line with the recent order of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) to implement round-the-clock shipment processing.
“With this continuous operation and government services, our productivity will increase, we will be able to help more of our countrymen,” he said. “The Filipino people deserve better services. So we should demand better.” (PNA)
