The Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Credit Policy Council (DA-ACPC) recently launched its official online public assistance desk. This is to ensure that the queries and concerns of the agency’s clientele on all its frontline services are addressed within the required period.
Said online platform will harmonize all the inquiries from the agency’s communication channels, including emails, social media, and website, and further enhance the DA-ACPC’s productivity and efficiency particularly in responding to the needs of its clients, especially the nation’s farmers, fisherfolk, and agripreneurs.
In her message, Executive Director Jocelyn Alma R. Badiola said that one way of gaining the trust and confidence of the stakeholders is through effective and efficient communication. “We must be able to gather and immediately respond to feedback from our clientele including complaints, comments, or suggestions on the internal and external services of the DA-ACPC,” she stated.
Director Norman William Kraft, chair the ACPC Committee on Anti-Red Tape (ACPC CART), shared that the said digital innovation is pursuant to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Memorandum Circular No. 2020-07 series of 2020 to establish and manage the ARTA Helpdesk.
“We are all aware that all government agencies under the executive branch have long been required to establish their respective helpdesk. The ACPC-CART connected this to the ARTA prescription of transitioning to the digitalization of government services and this resulted in the idea of online helpdesk,” Dir. Kraft said. “This project shall also ensure that our agency will comply with the requirements of the R.A. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.”
He also said that the challenge for the DA-ACPC is to make its online helpdesk the automatic default of clientele when they have concerns regarding the agency’s frontline services.
On his part, Mr. Justine Trey Cubos, DA-ACPC’s project head of the ACPC Online Helpdesk, presented the features of the platform and introduced the ACPC Virtual Assistant (AVA) to the DA-ACPC officers and staff. He said that the online helpdesk will serve as the agency’s official online public assistance desk.
Through this online platform, clients may submit their queries on the DA-ACPC’s services, inquire about the agency’s credit programs, and talk to ACPC Helpdesk Agents conveniently who will assist them on their requests.
Mr. Joel Matira, chief of DA-ACPC’s Information Systems Management Division (ISMD), led the pledge of commitment of the ACPC Helpdesk Agents to support the operationalization of the ACPC Online Helpdesk.
In her closing message, Ms. Emmalyn J. Guinto, chief of DA-ACPC’s Communications and Public Affairs Division, reiterated that the ACPC Management together with the ACPC-CART will be committed to maintain and support the online platform continuously overtime to ensure the agency’s efficiency in responding to the public’s requests for a better service delivery.
The ACPC Online Helpdesk is a project of the ACPC CART through its Helpdesk Committee, in coordination with the DA-ACPC’s Communications and Public Affairs Division (CPAD), Information Systems Management Division (ISMD), and in partnership with the Zendesk Philippines Thinkblink Inc.
The online platform will officially operationalize on the 1st week of October 2022.