Category: Service Quality

Organization

Department of Foreign Affairs

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy, Operations

Year Implemented

15 May 2020

This is a GBPR Entry

Summary

Effective communication is one of the most potent weapons to keep the virus at bay and prevent a bigger crisis. Through this, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) could urge employees to continue to be careful and aware of the current situation. Awareness could hamper the spread of the virus further, not only in the workplace but also in employees’ homes and communities. For offices or big organizations, what is important is that all personnel are properly informed and that no one is left behind. In the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA), AHCs are more familiar with circumstances that their respective units face daily, especially regarding operations.

Background and Problem

When the DFA released the Department Circular 11-2020 on the designation of Workplace Health Coordinator (WHC) for each office, the OCA not only immediately complied but also created a network of Workplace Health Coordinators (WHCs) in DFA Aseana and Consular Offices (COs). This was primarily to address the hurdle of the office in properly disseminating information about COVID-19 and conducting contact tracing among hundreds of personnel based in different locations.

The current network consists of the OCA WHC, eleven Alternate Workplace Health Coordinators (AHCs) in each OCA unit, and one WHC per CO. In this setup, the OCA WHC informs all personnel about COVID-19-related updates in the workplace and reminders daily through Viber. The OCA WHC asks the AHCs for the names of personnel who would like to undergo COVID-19 tests. In addition, the WHC checks the health declaration form responses daily and asks the AHC to check on their personnel who have symptoms.

The OCA welcomes hundreds of Filipinos daily to its premises to cater to their consular service needs. To fulfill its mandate, the office employs hundreds of personnel in frontline and backend operations. Apart from this, the OCA also oversees the operations of consular offices and the welfare of their personnel across the country. This entails difficulties in enforcing measures against COVID-19, most especially social distancing. People’s movement does not stop even while the pandemic persists. The OCA must respond to this by not ceasing its operations and employing safety and health protocols for its employees and clients.

Solution and Impact

Despite the challenges posed by the vast number of people coming in and out of its premises, the OCA strives its best to comply with and implement the COVID-19 Health Protocols and Guidelines as prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, Department of Health, Civil Service Commission, DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Administration, and DFA Epidemic Response Committee.

OCA upholds that it is better to err on the safe side in dealing with the virus and preventing it from spreading further. The measures the OCA currently implements are the following:

  • Placing of markers for social distancing and hand-sanitizing stations in public areas;
  • Requiring applicants and reporting employees to submit health declaration forms daily;
  • Monitoring respondents who report experiencing symptoms;
  • Immediately isolating symptomatic personnel;
  • Enforcing immediate 14-day quarantine for positive cases and close contacts;
  • Not allowing recovered cases to come to work if their quarantine period has not yet ended despite negative test results;
  • Enlisting personnel (including outsourced employees) to the regular swab testing done at DFA Main;
  • Closely coordinating with the OCA Physician for guidance; and
  • Implementing the OCA Return to Work Guidelines.

Aside from strictly following the COVID-19 Health Protocols and closely coordinating with relevant offices in the DFA for advice in handling cases, the OCA has employed AHCs per unit for a more structured communication channel. In addition, since the OCA oversees not only the main office operations at DFA Aseana but also the consular offices across the country, the OCA has included CO WHCs into its network of health coordinators.

Milestones/Next Steps

The following information is not considered remarkable results to take pride in but rather as reminders that the OCA and COs must continue to be vigilant and strive to keep the numbers at a minimum.

Since May 2020, OCA and COs have been monitoring the daily health conditions of personnel, including those who tested positive and are considered close contacts. Despite the heightened risks of infections on its premises due to the employment of hundreds of employees and working on the frontlines to cater to the people’s needs, OCA Aseana has only reported 14 positive cases, while COs have reported 25 positive cases since June 2020.

To date, the OCA’s WHC and AHCs have efficiently identified around 400 close contacts of positive cases in the OCA and 200 close contacts in COs. The close contacts were also swiftly advised on the preventive measures to protect their co-workers and their families.

Organization

Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy, Citizens / Customers, Operations

Year Implemented

16 April 2020

This is a GBPR Entry

Summary

The Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center have managed the outbreak in the hospital by taking appropriate measures to control the transmission of COVID-19 within and outside the hospital, such as quarantining all employees, in-patients, and watchers who were inside BGHMC at the time of recognition of the problem wherein strict quarantine house rules were implemented, risk stratification was used as a tool for cohorting the employees and also food, accommodation, and PPEs were provided for all.

Background and Problem

On 13 March 2020, the first COVID-19 patient was admitted to BGHMC, followed by another five (5) confirmed COVID-19 patients in the succeeding days. However, despite strict observance of infection control protocol, the hospital management has decided to optimize its operations due to the increased number of its health workers infected by COVID-19. Said optimization is necessary to prevent further virus transmission between and among the hospital staff and community. As of April 27, 2020, twenty medical doctors, eighteen nurses, nine nursing attendants, three respiratory therapists, two physical therapists, and three support personnel tested positive for COVID-19. The management has conducted Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to determine the reasons behind the increased healthcare worker infection based on four categories, namely: materials (PPE supplies & resources), workforce, methods (policy & management), and mother nature (environmental factors).

For the materials, the following problems were identified: scarcity and poor quality of personal protective equipment, prolonged usage of PPEs, inappropriate donning and doffing procedures, and misleading guidelines on the use of PPEs. For the workforce, the problems identified were community-acquired COVID-19 infection, traveling and commuting, other hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection, a breach in infection prevention and control protocol, and no strategic workforce and response team for COVID-19 patients. On methods, the identified problems were delayed COVID-19 test results, insufficient infrastructure/facilities for a pandemic, such as isolation rooms, and no zoning. Lastly, environmental factors causing increased healthcare worker infection are non-disclosure of patient’s travel history and exposure, non-disclosure of patient’s symptoms, uncontrolled movement of watchers and visitors, and lack of awareness on COVID-19. Another challenge came when the Bataan IATF designated BGHMC as a referral hospital for COVID-19 cases only in the province, effective on 17 April 2020.

Solution and Impact

A task group was created to optimize the BGHMC’s operations and response on COVID-19, spearheaded by the designated Responsible Official and the Incident Command Officer/Operations Officer. The task group is composed of different hospital personnel or section heads who act as the following: COVID-19 Point Person, Liaison Officer, Operation Center Data Manager, Communications / Press Release, Donning & Doffing Officer, Infection Control Officer, Surveillance Officer, Medical Management, Ancillary Management, PCR Lab Accreditation & Management, Quarantine Officer, Contact Tracing Officer & Swabbing, Rapid Test Approval, Dormitory / Hotel / Transportation, Discharge Officer Manager, Logistics Point Person–receiving, Logistics Management, Finance & Food Manager, Physical lay-out, ICT Officer and Workforce monitoring. The group regularly meets at 9:00 AM to discuss the day’s objectives, assign tasks and gather updates from each point person.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, the task group decided on six (6) objectives in crafting policies, namely:

  1. Provide quality treatment for all BGHMC employees and patients positive for COVID-19;
  2. Control transmission within BGHMC;
  3. Control transmission outside BGHMC,
  4. Operationalize a BSL 2 / PCR Laboratory;
  5. Set up BGHMC annex at capitol compound; and
  6. Ensure continuity of Residency Training Programs.

These six objectives were also the strategic functions of BGHMC personnel for July to December 2020 as far as the Individual Performance Commitment Review (IPCR) is concerned.

For the first objective, which is to provide quality treatment for all BGHMC employees and patients positive for COVID-19, BGHMC is using the guidelines given by the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in managing patients who are probable or confirmed with COVID-19. All confirmed COVID-19 employees who were admitted to the hospital were fully recovered, which is also the same as the admitted COVID-19 patients except only for the one recorded death as a severe case of COVID-19 as of 30 June 2020.

For the second and third objectives, controlling transmission within and outside BGHMC, the task group implemented a strict quarantine protocol wherein the Lead Quarantine Officer and Quarantine Point Persons were designated for every housing area occupied by the BGHMC employees.

The task group also designated donning and doffing officers who supervise the health workers every time they don and doff PPEs. The hospital is also implementing the three stages of cleaning and disinfection, which start with the air and surface disinfection machine, followed by manual cleaning and decontamination, then the UV-C disinfection procedure.

For the fourth objective, operationalizing a BSL 2/PCR Laboratory, BGHMC, in partnership with the Provincial Government of Bataan, successfully launched the 1Bataan-BGHMC PCR Laboratory, one of the DOH-accredited COVID-19 testing centers in the country last 11 June 2020, at the Provincial Health Office compound. It can accommodate and test up to 200 swab specimens daily, and the results will be released within 2-3 days. Aside from this, BGHMC was licensed by the DOH as a hospital-based laboratory that can perform independent testing for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) through Rapid PCR Testing (Xpert Xpress SARS-Cov-2) last 27 May 2020.

For the fifth objective, which is to set up the BGHMC annex at the capitol compound, BGHMC successfully opened its annex ward to the public located at the Old Provincial Capitol building last 16 June 2020. This annex ward of BGHMC is just 200 meters from the main BGHMC, and its main objective is to provide a COVID-free environment for patients to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 suspected and confirmed cases. It has a 50-bed capacity dedicated for Obstetrics-Gynecology (20), Pediatrics (10), Internal Medicine (10) and Surgery (10).

The last objective is the continuity of the hospital’s different accredited residency training programs, which include Anesthesiology, Family and Community Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Surgery. Each clinical department made several efforts to address the training needs of their respective residents, such as having a regular webinar with the consultants, etc.

Other measures implemented were repurposing or reassignment of the workforce to other areas (Physical Therapists, Dentists and Administrative staff with RN licenses), skeletal workforce or flexibility in government hours aside from job rotation, constant communication with the employees, timely grant of financial benefits, recognition of the heroism of all infected health workers, extra special care for the infected ones and also, most importantly, the enhanced infection prevention and control measures.

Milestones/Next Steps

Mass testing was also done among the high-risk population, especially those exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 patient or employee. Those who were symptomatic but not confirmed with a test were isolated and treated accordingly, while those who already had a positive PCR result were admitted in cohort. The cases in the wards were also revisited, wherein a step-down protocol was implemented for those asymptomatic with at least one negative PCR result to complete the 14-day quarantine.

The cases in the wards were also revisited, wherein a step-down protocol was implemented for those asymptomatic with at least one negative PCR result to complete the 14-day quarantine. Other measures implemented were repurposing or reassigning the workforce to other areas (Physical Therapists, Dentists, and Administrative staff with RN licenses), skeletal workforce or flexibility in government hours aside from job rotation, constant communication with the employees, timely grant of financial benefits, recognition of the heroism of all infected health workers, extra special care for the infected ones and also most importantly, the enhanced infection prevention and control measures.

For the new BGHMC Annex, admission is guided by the bed tracker system to determine vacancy prior before making referrals from different health facilities, which shall be coordinated via BGHMC Service Delivery Network (SDN) Online Referral System, which avoids overcrowding in the new facility and ensures high-priority patients can be admitted. The BGHMC SDN Online Referral System was one of 10 best practices from the public sector that received accolades at the Government Best Practice Recognition 2020.

Organization

City Government of El Salvador

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy, Citizens / Customers, Operations

Year Implemented

Started mid-year of 2014, full implementation in January 2017

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

With the new El Salvador City Hall and its Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), the business operators felt comfortable getting into the venue during renewal and new business applications. Refreshments and entertainment were being offered as clients waited for their permits. The operation of Business One Stop Shop made it easier for all business entities. They no longer need to go to other offices, and the waiting time for issuance of permits is a maximum of 30 minutes. Clients do not need to go to the barangay to get a clearance because it is already integrated into the process. Permits can be delivered as well if the client prefers this option. The permit has one e-signature by the city mayor and is countersigned by the Business Permit and Licensing Officer.

Background and Problem

In 2010, former President Aquino issued several memoranda to streamline the process of the Business Permit and Licensing System and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) requested several reports about its steps and documentary requirements on the business permit process. Data on the comparative growth of permits issued for renewal and new against gross sales and capitalization growth rate for five years were also requested. The City Treasurer’s Office was dismayed that a database with the information the DILG needed did not exist. Records were incomplete and not thorough, indicating poor performance in the business permit process. There is no basis when it sets a target, and the result is evaluated through an accomplishment report.

Business permit applicants assume that they are immediately permitted to operate upon payment of fees and charges, thus, overlooking compliance to other regulatory bodies such as zoning, sanitary, and building offices. Even businesses that already have permits were discovered to violate these regulations. Building operators have no setback and do not conform to the zoning ordinance, and food operators have not undergone food handlers’ class. The connectivity of one regulatory office to the others involved in permitting was not well defined. Thus, the system was amiss. Illegal operations were also prevalent since there was no business inspection. These were concerns that had to be addressed immediately.

There was no queuing system for getting a business permit, so the process was long and tedious, and documents were not specific and duplicated. The client has to go to many offices, and some regulatory offices are far from each other. Having a fixer was the accepted norm because the process was taxing and time-consuming.

Solution and Impact

In 2014, there were 275 new business permits issued and 279 were renewed. On 23-24 July, El Salvador City was invited by the Department of the Interior and Local Government to undergo the Regulatory Simplification Process (RSP for LGUs) in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC). The participants were the hands-on personnel assigned to their processes. Upon the diagnostic phase, it was discovered that applicants had undergone ten steps but could resolve it in only three steps, from the initial target of five steps. Streamlining started in 2015, and an inspection was conducted. There was a significant increase in the number of new permits, with a total of 418 for new applications and 473 for renewals, with a capitalization of P52M+ and gross sales P2B+. A slump was experienced in 2016 since the focal person ended her contract. She was rehired in mid-2016, and activities resumed.

The onset venue for One Stop Shop was amiss in 2017 when the incumbent mayor, Hon. Edgar Lignes assigned the 2nd floor of the Negosyo Center to be the Business One Stop Shop (BOSS), and all regulatory office personnel were co-located and came together. Finally, in October 2019, Business Permit and Licensing Office and BOSS were installed with the whole year-round function at the new city hall.

In January 2020, the new spacious office served the business operators comfortably, with refreshments and entertainment available. With the RSP mandate and JMC 2010-01, the local government unit created the Joint Inspection Team (JIT). An EBPLS program was funded to include travel, training allowances, uniform, supplies, fuel, and purchase of JIT vehicles. An inspection was conducted after evaluation of the conduct of BOSS and in preparation for the renewal for the succeeding year. The streamlined process is in place, and with continued monitoring and evaluation, it was enhanced and became compliant with JMC-DTI-DILG-DICT No. 01-2016. They implemented that new applications require four documents to be submitted, while renewal will only need two documentary requirements.

Due to the efficient and simple process of issuing business permits, there was a tremendous increase in the number of permits issued in relation to gross sales and capitalization. This also resulted in a remarkable raise in business tax and regulatory fees. The business operators were educated in setting up their business compliant with local and national regulations. The conferencing of the Joint Inspection Team and the Business One Stop Shop members led to the respectability of individual regulations, which was further understood and implemented.

Milestones/Next Steps

In 2017, 226 new permits were issued, then 408 for 2018 and 483 for 2019. Renewals for the three years were 758, 887, and 1,080, respectively. The Seal of Good Housekeeping was issued in 2011, and the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) was awarded in 2015. The City Government failed to bag an SGLG award last 2016 due to a missed point, but they improved and were again awarded the SGLG every year from 2017 to 2019. During the renewal period from January to February of 2020, new and renewal issuances are 329 and 1,245. The business tax income and regulatory fees that was earned from 2014 to 2019 are as follows; Php 5,563,227.02, Php 6,730,603.54, Php 8,164,697.29, Php 9,202,075.87 Php 32,791,707.99 and Php 58,318,374.25. The Ombudsman awarded the Streamlined Business Permit and Licensing System a Blue Certification Level I in compliance with their standards. These are the fruits of labor in implementing the good practices performed and carried out.

Inspection activities were regularly conducted to ensure the quality of service. In 2019, the LGU partnered with the Department of Tourism and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to set up a business for tourism-related establishments and to address DENR concerns. The aim is to be the economic capital in the western part of Misamis Oriental while ensuring environmental safety. The Joint Inspection Team has learned from each other’s regulations, resulting in a concerted effort to implement such. In the past six years of learning and experiences, public safety and welfare were highlighted as the prime purpose of issuing business permits. During the renewal period from January to February of 2020, business tax income reached Php 29,117,529.34 minus the regulatory fees. The continued monitoring and evaluation of the Enhanced Business Permit and Licensing System garnered positive feedback and was regarded as “simple, efficient, and business-friendly.”

Organization

Visayas State University

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Human Resource

Year Implemented

2018-present

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

The Visayas State University is following a problematic traditional system of recruitment, selection, and placement. Two of its HR personnel attended a Competency-based HR training on 7-8 December, conducted by the Civil Service Institute of the Civil Service Commission in Quezon City. The university produced a Competency-based Human Resource Management System (CBHRMS) manual approved by the National Library. The university has also conducted an in-house Competency Based HR Workshop. From then on, vacancy announcements for faculty and administrative staff became competency-based. Based on the training, personnel committees and boards conduct interviews already using the STAR method.

Background and Problem

The main objective of the university’s Competency-Based Recruitment, Selection and Placement System is to hire the right person with the right qualifications for the position. The system hopes to hire a potential performer over an average performer. The university has been known for imposing higher qualifications, especially in hiring faculty members, because they are the ones who deliver the primary product of the university. However, by doing the usual way of assessing applicants for a position, a candidate’s capability and potential cannot be determined by focusing only on the skills and minimum qualifications. Another vital component necessary in hiring is attitude, which has been left out most of the time. Typically, the genuine attitude of an employee can be displayed only after they are already hired, and it is a burden for the organization to change it.

Therefore, assessing competencies is very important before deciding whom to hire. The combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes should be measured to differentiate an average from superior performers. Introducing competency-based HR into the university was an enormous challenge. Most of them, particularly the HR personnel, do not know about it and do not have the expertise to initiate the change. By implementing a competency-based HR, the university qualifies for the deregulated status in Human Resource Management under the CSC PRIME-HRM Program. They need to submit to the university for assessment between 2020 and 2021. Another problem is that there are no manuals available to be used as a guide, and even the people who are supposed to implement it have no knowledge of how to operationalize it.

Solution and Impact

As a solution, the university sent two (2) VSU HR personnel to attend a Competency-based HR training last 7-8 December 2017, conducted by the Civil Service Institute of the Civil Service Commission in Quezon City. From the learnings acquired, the HR Director prepared a draft Competency-based Human Resource Management System (CBHRMS) manual using the “borrow and build” concept from other sources, specifically from the CSC Generics Competency Dictionary, where the competencies and behavioral indicators of some of the commonly used competencies are defined. The next step was to conduct an in-house Competency Based HR Workshop, wherein an HR expert from Metro Manila was invited. This was attended by supervisors, members and chairpersons of Personnel committees and Personnel Board, and Vice Presidents. The workshop included an orientation on competency-based HR. The participants also commented on the draft CBHRM manual, identifying specific competencies related to academic functions and its behavioral indicators per level. There was also role-playing among the participants on conducting interviews using the STAR method and other methods to assess applicants’ competencies. They revised the draft CBHRMS Manual for faculty and staff and subjected it to review/deliberation. Then an ad hoc committee was created to edit the manual. The Board of Regents approved the final manual. The vacancy announcements for faculty and administrative staff became competency-based. The assessment of applicants using the STAR method.

The HR Director prepared/submitted to the National Library two Operations Manual (ISBN: 978-971-592-087-2 for administrative staff and ISBN: 978-971-592-087-2 for the faculty). The CBHRMS Manual was likewise issued with ISBN: 978-971-592-086-5. The two Operations Manual are due for printing but still awaiting completion of the review by the English critic. Soft copies of the Operations Manual and the CBHRMS manual were already disseminated to the Personnel Boards and the external campuses for their use in hiring faculty and staff. The final printing of the three manuals will follow the final English editing by the English critics. As a result, since implementing competency-based recruitment in hiring faculty and staff, the complaints regarding the attitudes of new hires significantly decreased.

Milestones/Next Steps

The university even received recognitions from the Civil Service Commission: 2018 Best Competency Based Merit Selection Plan given by CSC Region 8 at Summit Hotel in October 2018 and a Bronze Award by the CSC in September 2019 at PICC, Metro Manila. The assessment and rating by personnel committees/boards shall only be done through the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). With the operationalization of the VSU HRIS, the competencies and behavior indicators are already incorporated into the system. Recently, the vacancy announcements specified in the application should be lodged online through jobs.vsu.edu.ph.

The Competency-based Recruitment, Selection, and Placement of additional faculty and staff took off right after the 4-6 July 2018 competency-based training among supervisors since they are the ones who initially assess applicants for faculty positions. The full-swing implementation was in October 2018, after the Board of Regents approved the system. The CBHRMS has been installed in the HRMIS, where applicants must lodge their applications online at jobs.vsu.edu.ph. The assessment of their competencies was immediately encoded by the panel of interviewers/assessors effective July 2020.

Organization

Bicol Medical Center

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy, Citizens / Customers, Operations

Year Implemented

2016-present

This is a GBPR entry

Summary

Bicol Medical Center (BMC) is faced with issues such as a lack of medicines, a 150% bed occupancy rate, and medication time delays. A one-drug-one prescription policy was also one of the complaints raised by resident physicians, as preparing prescriptions have taken most of their time, compromising patient care time (BMC SWOT Analysis 2011). Because of this, the BMC started its clinical pharmacy section and electronic prescribing to improve service delivery for medication and ensure patient safety.

Background and Problem

BMC is an ISO-certified, five hundred 500-bed capacity government training hospital. The major challenges of BMC are lack of medicines and delayed medication time. The one-drug-one prescription policy is receiving complaints from resident physicians, compromising patient care time. There was also a problem with bed occupancy with a 150% bed occupancy rate.

Solution and Impact

A clinical pharmacy section was the strategy identified and reconstitution of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. The Pharmacy Department was a dispensing unit with two groups of pharmacists. The nurses were tasked with getting medicines from the pharmacy to the wards. Under these changes, BMC started its clinical pharmacy section and Electronic Prescribing. The 12-month pilot study started in July 2016 with two (2) clinical pharmacists attending three wards with the most patients. They performed a chart review of medication orders in the Medical, Medical Annex, and Communicable Disease wards. They prepared patient profiles, recorded daily orders of medicines to be ready, and checked the availability of drugs and timely medication for patients.

Ten months into the study, four (4) more clinical pharmacists came in, and electronic prescriptions started after 1 1⁄2 months. The program was evaluated by comparing pre and post intervention measures, wherein the baseline was six (6) months before July 2016. The period from July to December 2016 was Phase 1, January to June 2017 was Phase 2, and they compared both phases at the end. They took the date in point from January-June 2018 and January-June 2019 Clinical Pharmacy findings wherein the same variables are available for both times.

The following findings were: ordering/prescribing errors were 11% (502) and decreased to 6% (164). The prescribed wrong drug was reduced by 0.31% (21 to 4 reported), and it dropped the prescribed wrong dosage form by 0.63% (44 to 9 reported). Meanwhile, the prescribed contraindicated drugs were reduced by 0.02% (1 to 0 reported). Failure to update the medication chart of patients decreased by 4.3% (215 to 11 reported). Prescribed medications without S2 were reduced by 0.7% (3 to 0 reported).

The data presented showed positive trends with more available medicines and better monitoring of patients’ medication. There was more efficient use of time and resources as pharmacists were able to focus on medication safety, maintained a single account, and used electronic prescriptions. An established clinical pharmacy with electronic prescribing in government hospitals appears beneficial for patient safety and should be further studied.

Milestones/Next Steps

The Clinical Pharmacy service started with three wards last July 2016. Two Clinical Pharmacists were initially doing the ward visits, then ten months into the study, four additional Clinical Pharmacists were trained to handle new wards. Last May 15, 2017, electronic prescription started with one ward (Medical Ward), which later moved to cover 22 nursing units of BMC by July 1, 2017, with 18 clinical pharmacists on board. Since BMC implemented this practice, prescribing errors decreased by 49.6% from Phase 1 of 134. Data for identified medication errors decreased by 39.9% from 4576 identified errors in January 2018–June 2018 to 2752 identified errors from January 2019 to June 2019.

Organization

Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy, Citizens / Customers, Operations

Year Implemented

15 October 2018 to present

This is a GBPR finalist entry

Summary

The Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) Department of Emergency Medicine formed the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward (EMOW) with the approval of the Medical Center Chief. It was inaugurated on 15 October 2018. The ward aims to decongest the overcrowded emergency room. The observation and assessment ward allows patients to be observed short-term and permits patient monitoring and treatment for at least 24 hours. It is a fifteen (15) bed capacity ward that caters to patients with simple diseases such as Acute Gastroenteritis, Bronchial Asthma, Hypertensive Urgency, etc., and patients who require social admission.

Background and Problem

The EVRMC is a tertiary, teaching-and-training, end-referral hospital with an authorized bed capacity of five hundred (500) (but implementing on a 1,000-bed capacity) that provides comprehensive quality healthcare services for the people of Region VIII. It has fourteen (14) departmentalized clinical services with eleven (11) residency training programs accredited by their respective specialty societies.

As the end referral hospital in Region 8, patients from all walks of life choose to come to the EVRMC Department of Emergency Medicine, ranging from simple cases to complicated ones. Currently, the Department of Emergency Medicine still admits simple cases to the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward up to the present. This results in the congestion of the Emergency Room. Utilizing the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward in the ER helps alleviate the overwhelming influx of patients seeking immediate medical attention. From its inauguration to this time amidst this Covid-19 pandemic, the EMOW did not stop its implementation. The Emergency Observation Ward was created to address patients’ needs, decongest the emergency room, and lessen the number of overstaying patients at the ER.

Solution and Impact

It has been a policy of the Department of Emergency Medicine that all disciplines abide by and utilize the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward. EMOW staff/residents on duty must manage all cases, and patients must be triaged and managed. For cases that theEMOW sta can’t manage, they will be referred to the appropriate discipline concerned. This ensures easy disposition of cases, whether the patient is for admission or discharge. Hence, decongestion, turn-around-time, and client satisfaction are met.

All patients/clients are admitted to EMOW since it’s a strict ER policy. Implementing the EMOW results in decongestion of the ER, lessens turn-around time, and improves client satisfaction. Clients enjoy the lesser turn-around time that the implementation of EMOW produces. Evidence suggests that with patients admitted to the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward, the ward reduces patients’ length of stay and satisfies the target four-hour stay in the Emergency Room. Emergency Department patients do not have to wait for vacancies in the significant clinical wards to be admitted. Patients who fit the criteria for admission to the EMOW do not have to wait for laboratory results at the ER, thereby decongesting the ER. This, in turn, lessens the number of overstaying patients, thus satisfying the target four-hour stay in the emergency room and increasing customer satisfaction.

Use of EMOW resulted in decongestion of the ER, lessened turn-around time, and improved client satisfaction. For financial benefits, patients enjoy lesser expenses because there is a disposition within 24 to 48 hours from admission to EMOW. The hospital can reimburse costs incurred from PhilHealth packages. The adoption of the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward (EMOW) can be benchmarked by other hospitals/institutions to improve their turn-around time, thereby increasing Client Satisfaction. The Department of Emergency Medicine still adopts patients’ admission to the Emergency Observation Ward (EMOW).

Milestones/Next Steps

Since its inauguration last 15 October 2018, the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward is still being implemented up to the present. After the implementation of the Emergency Medicine Observation Ward (EMOW), the ER patient turn-around time improved, and there was an increase in the Client Satisfaction Rating.

Before the implementation and adoption of EMOW, the Emergency Room of EVRMC was very crowded, catering to at least 4,744 patients monthly for 2018, and concern for lesser turn-around-time was not considered because this is not yet a target in the DOH performance indicator. In 2019, the patients seen at the ER totaled 47,737. Among these patients, 90.39%were seen with less than 4 hours turn-around time.

For 2020, the DOH performance indicator requires a 95% target for ER patient turn-around time. The hospital attained 94% as of 30 June 2020, compared to 90.93% the previous year. Due to the increasing census at the EMOW, the management plans to increase its bed capacity from 15 beds to 20-bed capacity by 2020.

Organization

Visayas State University

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Human Resource

Year Implemented

2012

This is a Recognized Best Practice

Summary

The VSU SPMS is an organized, systematic, and standardized system for evaluating delivery units and their employees within the department concerned. It is administered to continuously foster organizational effectiveness; and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the faculty and staff in their instruction, research, extension, production, and other functions assigned to them by the University President. The system is administered by the university’s Performance Management Team (PMT) following the rules, regulations, and standards established by the Civil Service Commission per CSC Memorandum Circular No. 6, series of 2012, and other policies issued by the commission.

With the guidelines issued by CSC, the university immediately crafted its own (BCLIBC)SPMS and conducted a 3-day workshop to prepare the list of Major Final Outputs (MFOs) and Success Indicators. The VSU SPMS, the required forms, Table of MFOs, and Success Indicators were submitted to the Civil Service Commission and were approved on 8 October 2012. The VSU SPMS improved university performance and its employees with a series of orientations and target-setting workshops.

Background and Problem

In 2010-11, the university used the Performance Management-Office Performance Evaluation System (PMS-OPES) of the CSC, which assigns a points system per activity of one (1) hour spent in one training equivalent to 1 point. However, the university met the following challenges using the PMS-OPES:

  1. Time-consuming and tedious system. Calibrating and computing points was a time-consuming and tedious process. The system promoted an activity-oriented mindset because tangible outputs that required greater points mattered the most. It failed to account for the service that was not delivered or demands could not be satisfied, as these concerns were overshadowed by the goal to acquire points simply. The original goal of showing the connection between individual and organizational performance was not met. While drawing objective measures effectively, the points system approach was not widely implemented.
  2. Discouragement. A performance appraisal needs encouragement, positive reinforcement, and celebrating a year’s worth of accomplishments. PMS-OPES did not show how an employee’s performance has contributed to or hindered organization effectiveness. The employees were also rarely given feedback on their performance. It emphasizes more on activities and does not focus on the desired effect of activity. Employees tend to focus on counting the number of activities per time they perform. The employees become concerned about performing more activities and, in most cases, no longer care if it impacts the university.
  3. Inconsistent message. As a performance evaluation system, employees did not care about organizational effectiveness in PMS-OPES. Employees became concerned that they had plenty of activities to get a higher performance rating. Supervisors tend to require employees to design and implement actions to make their unit more relevant with so much work without considering whether these activities are appropriate to the university.

Solution and Impact

The HR department then prepared the write-up of the system and the required forms based on the CSC guidelines. What was lacking was the standard of performance. To ensure that there will be ownership of the system, the university conducted a 3-day workshop on 4-6 September 2012 to craft the standard of performance officials of the university who will be involved in making the system operational. The Table of Major Final Outputs and Success Indicators as performance standards was finalized. Because they were involved in crafting the performance standard, everybody welcomed the SPMS as an improved version of the PMS-OPES and because they felt ownership of the system.

VSU immediately implemented the SPMS in 2012, a few months after the Civil Service Commission approved it. Reasons for its fast acceptance instead of resistance to change from all sectors. Thus, it was a relief shifting to the outputs/outcomes-oriented SPMS. In addition, to ensure its acceptability, we involved everybody by conducting a three-day university-wide workshop just to prepare the table of success indicators with SPMS, units, and its people were told to review their mandate. Standards of performance per unit/sector were agreed upon and approved. Delivery units were required to prepare office targets on what they were expected to do. In addition, a percentage weight in ranking units was designed and approved. Specifically, the percentage weight is incorporated in the OPCR target template for academic departments and research centers for academic teams. The percentage weight per function is as follows:

Academic departments

  • Instruction functions –70% (20% of which is for graduate degree program offering and the remaining 50% for undergraduate degree offering)
  • Research functions –10%
  • Extension functions –10%
  • Other initiatives such as accreditations, etc. 10%

Research centers

  • Research functions and extension functions –70%
  • Instruction functions –20%
  • Other industries such as accreditations, etc. 10%

Administrative units

  • Doing mandated procedures –70%
  • Customer-friendly services –10%
  • Innovations/changes for improved effectiveness & efficiency –10%
  • Best practices/manuals –10%

With those percentage weights, departments and faculty members who refuse to conduct research become pressured or motivated. In contrast, faculty members in research centers become interested in having at least two class sections per semester. Administrative units will avoid having dissatisfied clients and introduce innovations in the workplace and the procedures.

Milestones/Next Steps

  • CY 2010 -11 – Use of PMS-OPES
  • CY 2012 – April-September- Crafting of VSU’s SPMS through workshops
  • CY 2012 – Approval of VSU SPMS by CSC Reg. VIII, 12 October 2020
  • Certificate of Recognition for having met the Maturity Level 2 indicators in Performance Management under the CSC’s PRIME-HRM Inclusion of VSU’s SPMS as one of the Model SPMS in the Compendium of Agency
  • SPMS, which was published on the CSC website
  • CY 2013 – Full Implementation
  • CY 2014 onward – The gains
  • One of the first few agencies that qualified for the PBB in 2012 and yearly until 2015
  • Produced yearly Presidential Lingkod Bayan/Pag-asa Awardees at Heroes Hall of Malacanang from 2014 until 2019 and is hoping to have another awardee this September
  • The only agency in Region 8 and possibly in the Visayas, if not in the entire country, to give two (2) steps increment yearly based on merit since 2016 (based on 2015 performance)
  • Benchmarked by SUCs

Organization

City Government of General Santos

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Human Resource

Year Implemented

February 2018- Present

This is a Recognized Best Practice

Summary

High-Personal Effectiveness Through Resource Allocation or HI-PERA is an unconventional initiative for the development and sustainability of sound financial management among the regular employees of the City Government of General Santos (LGU-Gensan). From the first quarter of 2018 to the present, the Human Resource Management & Development Office (HRMDO) has pioneered the radical move to revive, re-strengthen and innovate the ways to aid in the enduring problem of uncontrolled and deteriorating credit behavior of the employees in the city government.

Background and Problem

In 2017, verified reports showed that many employees were seriously charged with complaints from money lending institutions and private individuals due to uncontrolled and deteriorating credit behavior. Employees have reportedly surrendered their payroll ATM as loan collateral, thus draining the proceeds of their salaries, bonuses, and incentives. Subsequently, this has caused habitual absences, underperformance, and a low level of productivity that affected their performance in particular and the city government as a whole.

One of the mechanisms employed by loaning agencies and private lending individuals to ensure the collection of payments is to require creditors to deposit their payroll ATM from where their regular payments will be directly withdrawn. This places the employees at the mercy of these lenders and stops them from accessing their salaries. When policies prohibit employees from applying for loans resulting in net take-home pay lower than Php 5,000.00, employees can still circumvent ways to apply for loans from private lending individuals who require the same collateral deposit. Furthermore, these loan sharks reportedly collect more than the required payment putting their other monetary benefits at risk, such as mid-year & year-end bonuses, CNA incentives, and other allowances.

Consequently, poor work performance was evident in the observable and habitual absences of the concerned employees on the salary days allegedly because of purposeful evasion from loan sharks who personally visit offices to collect due and unsettled payments. These circumstances have led local leaders to legislate policies to mitigate the growing number of employees at risk of not rising to financial stability due to undesirable credit behavior. While the employees can be blamed for availing these types of loans, the HRMDO needs to devise an intervention to prevent this deplorable practice.

Screenshots from the Webinar on Personal Effectiveness Through Resource Allocation (PERA)

Solution and Impact

Founded on the philosophy that an employee’s financial wellness directly affects work productivity and job performance, Hi-PERA implements a strategy that deals with the employee’s lack of sound financial management skills by operating with a certain degree of discipline with a compassionate end in mind to implement policies and interventions helping employees to get through their financial struggles. As such, Hi-PERA is designed to implement mechanisms that will help develop and sustain sound financial management skills of the regular employees through interventions such as one payroll ATM-ID system and one-bank-loan policy; consistent financial literacy programs; sustainable savings facilities; and reliable income expansion programs.

With the aid of local legislation, the initial approach of Hi-PERA is implementing an integrated ID-ATM system that combines biometrics scanning through facial recognition and ID-ATM confirmation. The administration has also called for prompt implementation of establishing an exclusive partnership with a reputable banking institution under the One-Bank Policy, granting salary loans to city government employees with longer terms of payments and lower interest rates. This is complemented by the efforts of HRMDO to sustain the consistent conduct of capacity-building activities on financial management skills, the introduction of accessible and reliable savings facilities offered by banks, cooperatives, and other financial institutions, and the initiation of income expansion or livelihood literacy programs.

The practice has brought a quantum leap in the financial status of the affected employees that has a direct positive effect on their work performance, as demonstrated by the curve of improvement in their Individual Personal Commitment Ratings (IPCRs) since the onset of Hi-PERA implementation up to the present. This is proven true by the recent study and analytics of the figures that make up the opposite trend in the decreasing number of employees with a net salary lower than Php 5,000.00 and the increasing mean of their IPCR ratings.

HI-PERA has consistently ignited interest from other benchmarking government agencies who have explicitly expressed appreciation and intent to adopt the same practice in their respective workplaces. Ultimately, the program is significantly valued in the level of personal development of employees and the organizational development of the city government, as proven by the local and national recognitions.

Milestones/Next Steps

Data shows that Hi-PERA significantly reduced the number of employees whose net take-home pay is equal to or lower than Php 5,000.00 since the onset of the program implementation. This positively projects that the program continues to realize its aim to implement mechanisms to develop and sustain the sound financial management skills of the regular employees.

Furthermore, the recent study and focus group discussion (FGD) with the purposely selected employees for the first and second quarters of 2020 revealed that the HI-PERA positively affected employees. Validated reports also disclosed that their financial status is simply improving, with some who could pay off all their debts and others who have been diligently propelling their business ventures for expanded income sources.

As a significant achievement, this innovation has attributions to the notable distinctions conferred to HRMDO and LGU-Gensan in the nationwide search for People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) organization in 2019 wherein the HRMDO Department Head, Ms. Leah Y. Tolimao, was awarded as the “People Manager of the Year Award,” while LGU-Gensan was conferred the “The Employer of the Year” award. The Civil Service Commission also granted the organization the PRIME-HRM Level II status because of the best governance and administration practices, including Hi-PERA.

It is also remarkable that several government agencies, primarily LGUs, consistently conduct benchmarking activities in HRMDO and LGU-Gensan. This observation has led them to explicitly express the aim to adopt the same in their respective agencies. As per the consensus gathered from them, HI-PERA is proven to be an effective practice in financial management for the personal development of employees and the organizational development of the agency.

Organization

Bureau of Fire Protection – Caraga Region

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Leadership, Human Resources, Operations

Year Implemented

29 October 2019

This is a GBPR finalist entry

Summary

The Bureau of Fire Protection Caraga (BFP-Caraga) is spearheading the empowerment of female firefighters by allowing them to administer local fire stations and substations fully.

Background and Problem

Under the leadership of Regional Director Senior Superintendent Romel C. Tradio, the BFP-Caraga wants to end the pseudo-feminist point of view toward fire services. As observed, female firefighters are more often designated to administrative tasks, contrary to their oath and training, which are core to the operational essence of BFP’s mission and vision.

BFP Caraga Regional Office Personnel

Solution and Impact

This innovative scheme of creating all-female fire stations and substations is positively perceived as a projection of equal rights and opportunities involving active representation and participation of women in fire services, which stand in congruence with the (Gender and Development (GAD) program of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). This intends to upend the practice of limiting female firefighters to administrative roles and provides them an opportunity to be designated tasks commonly occupied by their male counterparts, exempli gratia being the fire marshal, fire truck driver, and crew members. Furthermore, beyond the mechanisms, the more comprehensive objective of the program aims to set an example worth emulating by other public and private sectors, particularly eradicating gender-biased delineation on what women can and cannot perform.

Milestones/Next Steps

Consequently, the BFP-Caraga further improved its presence within its area of responsibility by creating additional fire stations and substations fully occupied by adept female firefighters. Since their activation, they began to take their mandated role of suppressing destructive fires and responding to any emergency.

Organization

Freedom of Information-Program Management Office (FOI-PMO)

Best Practice Focus Area/s

Strategy, Citizens / Customers, Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management

Year Implemented

25 November 2016

This is a GBPR finalist entry

Summary

In response to the advent of technology and the need to provide Filipinos with efficient access to information mechanisms, the FOI-PMO developed the electronic Freedom of Information (eFOI) Portal (www.foi.gov.ph). The platform allows users to request government information, track their requests, and receive the information they requested online. To effectively handle the influx of requests, the portal is also designed to assist government offices in receiving, processing, and responding to online requests.

Background and Problem

On 23 July 2016, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 2, s. 2016, operationalizing the Executive Branch of the People’s Constitutional Right to Information or the Freedom of Information (FOI) Program. The said EO strengthens the People’s right to information under the 1987 Constitution. It is meant to become a mechanism for the government to promote transparency and accountability in governance. On 25 November 2016, 120 days after publishing the EO, the PCOO, through the FOI-Project Management Office (FOI-PMO), launched the FOI Program and the eFOI Portal.

Before creating the eFOI portal, requests for information may be lodged in government offices by submitting a physical copy of an FOI request form. This hinders the public from filing their FOI request to government offices, especially those residing outside Metro Manila (e.g., a citizen from the Visayas cannot file an FOI request to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in Metro Manila without physically going to the office of MMDA).

Solution and Impact

The creation of the eFOI portal is our response to digital development. This portal was created to allow Filipinos to access government information online conveniently. Transparency is the program’s primary goal, so the details of the requested information, response time, and outcomes of requests made within the eFOI portal are published.

The eFOI portal started with fifteen (15) pilot agencies in 2016, namely, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Transportation (DOTr), National Archives of the Philippines (NAP), Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

Security, Scalability, and High Availability are significant factors to the success of the eFOI Platform. The eFOI Portal Technical Infrastructure balances the multiple goals of running the eFOI Platform System. It harnesses the platform of Google Cloud to provide security, reliability, consistent performance, and manageable costs. The eFOI portal can successfully operate and empower its users to further perform their duties and responsibilities.

Here are some of the challenges in the implementation of the FOI Program that were addressed by eFOI:

  • The portal provides a centralized repository for all requested information on government activities, averting the risk of a fragmented approach by agencies for FOI.
  • Using technology, the portal allows efficient and timely quality service from all agencies, averting the risk of duplication in agency-level efforts and budget utilized for FOI implementation.
  • Performance monitoring for agencies can be used as a basis for policy, e.g., performance-based budgeting. It can be a starting point for the streamlining of government processes.
  • The portal promotes demand-driven transparency and accountability, made possible through a web-based platform that simultaneously receives and tracks multiple requests.

The portal increases public participation in government processes through extended web reach. Three and a half (3 1⁄2) years into its implementation, the eFOI portal already has a total of 487 government agencies onboard, 186 out of 189 (or 98%) national government agencies, 92 out of 111 (or 83%) government-owned or-controlled corporations, 96 out of 111 (or 86%) state universities and colleges, 110 out of 520 (or 21%) local water districts, and three (3) local government units) with 31,827 led eFOI requests.

Milestones/Next Steps

By implementing best practices, the Freedom of Information-Project Management Office (FOI-PMO) is now an accredited member of the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC), a global forum for information rights. The FOI Philippines is the first member of the ICIC from Southeast Asia and the fifth from Asia.

In its three-year program implementation, FOI-PMO successfully met the primary eligibility criteria of protecting, promoting, and ensuring the respect of access to public information in the Philippines, under the leadership of former Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary and FOI Champion Jose Ruperto Martin Andanar and former Assistant Secretary and FOI Program Director Kristian R. Ablan.

The PCOO is tasked as the lead implementing agency of the FOI Program. It established the FOI PMO as the main office to oversee and monitor the FOI Program implementation in the Executive Branch.

As an instrument of change, ICIC (https://www.informationcommissioners.org) aims to be a global forum that connects different countries worldwide to become responsible for protecting and promoting access to information. It builds the capacity of its members and raises more awareness to such advocacy of sharing information, which fuels more opportunities and fosters global progress. ICIC also encourages and supports dialogue and cooperation by becoming a forum that creates a more convenient way for other countries to connect and share their different knowledge and practices. This will also help improve the transparency and accountability of governments.

As global progress is becoming collective, ICIC provides a platform to unite voices from the international community to raise awareness on the impact and effects of access to public information. This great endeavor propels the development and adoption of specific international standards on accessing public information globally, including establishing independent information commissions.

Being internationally recognized is another step for the FOI advocacy to become more than just an Executive Order; another step for our country to be a transparent nation. FOI’s primary goal is for information to be available to the nation.