By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. 

For the first time, Mariano Marcos State University disposed bulks of ‘valueless’ documents in compliance with Republic Act 9470 or the National Archives of the Philippines (NAP) Act of 2007. 

Held today, July 7, the disposal of MMSU’s valueless documents was administered by the MMSU Records and Archives Management Office, headed by Chief Rebecca Rangcapan. It was witnessed by Christin E. Licopit; NAP’s senior records management analyst; Aida T. Purisima, resident auditor from the Commission on Audit; Jhoseph Francisco of D’ Lacoste Enterprise, the official buyer of the disposed documents, MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis and Administrative Services Director Brian Jay Corpuz. 

The law stipulates that all files which have reached the prescribed retention periods and outlived the usefulness to agencies, called valueless documents, shall be properly disposed.  

Actual disposal of valueless records shall be witnessed by authorized representatives from the requesting agency, NAP, and COA to ensure that the records are authorized for the said purpose. Rangcapan said the disposal of valueless documents strictly adhered to the procedures stipulated in the NAP General Circular No. 2. 

She added the sale proceeds will be deposited to a Trust Fund for future needs of the records programs. 

Disposal of valueless documents is part of NAP’s function to strengthen the system of management and administration of archival records of all government offices, which is in line with the government’s efforts to accelerate digitalization of services. It is the office which fully implements RA 9470, mandating all government offices to transfer public records to a permanent government repository for proper management, control, and regulation of record disposition. 

This effort also forms significant part in attaining effective and efficient management in the university, one of the ACHIEVE agenda of PSCA. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)