MANILA — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) welcomed the enactment of Republic Act (RA) 11032 otherwise known as the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 which was signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday evening.
The EODB Act amended the RA 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.
Under the new law, business processes will be streamlined and processing time in all government agencies, including local government units (LGUs) and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), will be reduced.
The EODB Act ordered government offices to comply with the “3-7-20 rule” — completing simple transactions within three working days; seven working days for complex transactions; and 20 working days for highly technical transactions.
A Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) shall also be established by LGUs, to serve as a common location for securing business permits and licensing. A single online website may also be established for the same purpose. This is meant to centralize the receiving and processing of applications, receiving of payments, as well as the issuance of approved licenses, clearances, permits, or other authorizations.
The law also mandated that barangay clearances and permits shall be applied for, issued, and fees collected at the city or the municipality level. The LGUs shall remit the collections to the respective barangays.
The law also provides the creation of Central Business Portal that will receive and capture application data of enterprises. The data will be directed into Philippine Business Databank that will allow national government agencies and LGUs to access information for verification. This initiative eliminates the submission of the same application data to various government offices.
“We realized that for the EODB reforms to be fully implemented and integrated, a whole-of-government approach was necessary. Thus in full support of the President’s vision, Congress enacted a law that will make doing business in the Philippines easier and more importantly, create a more efficient government,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
Earlier, DTI Undersecretary for Competitiveness Rowell Barbao said the enactment of EDOB Act into law will facilitate the improvement in the country’s ranking in the 2019 Doing Business Report of the World Bank and International Finance Corp.
Meanwhile, the EODB law will penalize government employees who will not comply with the “3-7-20 rule”. First offense would be six months suspension from the service, and dismissal from service for the second offense.
“If strictly implemented, this will be favorable for business,” Semiconductor and Electronics Industries Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) president Dan Lachica said in a text message.
“I would urge for computerization of processes so we can further reduce the lead time and ensure transparency,” added Lachica. (PNA)
