The passage of RA 11032 or Ease of Doing Business for Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 aims to improve services by re-engineering, simplifying requirements and procedures, and promptly responding to the needs of the public. However, its passage did not result in salutary gains. The study evaluated the Citizen’s Charter compliance of the Local Government Units in the 4th District of Camarines Sur. Specifically, it has two objectives: 1) to evaluate the compliance of the local government units in 4th District, Camarines Sur with the information requirements of the Citizen’s Charter as provided by RA 11032, 2) to obtain feedback on its implementation in terms of visibility, clarity of content, usefulness, and actual compliance. The study is Descriptive-Evaluative. Participated by 161 respondents composed of the key officials, frontline service providers, and service recipients from the Local Treasury, Business Permit and Licensing, and Engineering Offices of Tigaon, Goa, and Lagonoy, Camarines Sur. Purposive sampling technique was used in choosing the key officials and frontline service providers while convenience sampling was used in choosing the service recipients. The study used site observation scoring guide, 4-point Likert scale questionnaire and interviews. The study found that the required information in the Citizen’s Charter of the study areas did not meet the CSC Report Card Survey passing mark of 8.4 or 70% using the scoring rubric. Conversely, the three groups of respondents strongly agree that the Citizen’s Charter is implemented in terms of visibility, clarity of content, usefulness, and actual compliance of the Citizen’s Charter. Thus, a disparity between the Likert survey results and interviews during the validation of data was found. Service recipients are not aware of the Citizen’s Charter. The routine procedures of doing business with the service providers enable the service recipients to transact even without knowledge about the same. The study recommends LGUs, CSC and other line agencies to strengthen the implementation of the Citizen’s Charter through awareness programs, capacity building, updating of the Citizen’s Charter, monitoring of its implementation, and continuous research and extension undertakings of academic and field practitioners.

Stakeholders’ feedback is one contributing factor in the attainment of an organization’s objectives. It clearly identifies strengths and weaknesses and other corrective measures to improve the implementation of public policies and programs. The study delved into the problems encountered in the implementation of the Citizen’s Charter and recommendations for the improvement of its implementation in the 4th District, Camarines Sur, Philippines. Using thematic analysis, three themes were generated from forty-five (45) interviewees composed of frontline service providers and users from the Local Treasury, Business Permit and Licensing Office, and Engineering Office of LGUs Tigaon, Goa, and Lagonoy, Camarines Sur. These themes are 1) Knowledge/Attitude, 2) Clarity of procedures/flow of transactions, and 3) Structural barriers. Specifically, the findings revealed that service users are not aware of the Citizen’s Charter, lack understanding of its purpose and procedures, the procedures in the Citizen’s Charter are not followed during actual transactions, there are delays in the flow of transactions, problems in the queuing system, and structural designs hamper the clearness of instructions from the frontline service providers. The study recommends that LGUs, CSC, and other line agencies sternly monitor the Citizen’s Charter implementation vis-à-vis, conduct awareness programs and capacity building, implement procedural innovations, address structural barriers, and conduct continuous research and extension activities of academic and field practitioners.

The study determined the Level of Implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) in Flood-Prone Areas in Camarines Sur, Philippines. Specifically, the study focused on the level of implementation and problems encountered in four thematic areas of DRRM, namely: Prevention and Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Rehabilitation and Recovery. The Descriptive-Evaluative Inferential Method was used in the study. A five-point Likert scale questionnaire was used in gathering the data. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by means of Kuder Richardson Formula. The same was validated by academic experts well-versed in the topic and disaster management practitioners. Purposive or selective sampling was used in choosing the MDRRMC while convenience sampling was the sampling technique used for community residents. One hundred twenty-one (121) members of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and three hundred (300) residents in flood-prone areas in Camarines Sur, Philippines were the respondents of the study. The population represented by the 300 respondents were household members specifically, the head of the family. Frequency count, percentage, rank, weighted mean, and Wilcoxon Mann Whitney U-Test were the statistical tools used in the study. Findings revealed that DRRM Programs were implemented in flood-prone areas in Camarines Sur namely, Milaor, San Fernando, Libmanan, Sipocot, Camaligan, Canaman, Magarao, Buhi, Nabua and Iriga City. Conversely, some of the problems encountered by the respondents on four thematic areas rated as “Serious” were: lack of community drills, inadequate disaster facilities and equipment, poor implementation of laws, absence of Standard Operation Manual, inadequate community warning system, lack of disaster response vehicles, and the reluctance of residents to pre-emptively evacuate.