MANILA — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will look into practical realities in the bureaucracy and their limitations in crafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters Friday that his department recognizes the different processes undertaken by each government agency, in which some may not be able to comply with the 3-7-20 rule under the EODB law.
Under the EODB law, all government offices shall complete simple transactions within three working days; seven working days for complex transactions; and 20 working days for highly technical transactions. Lopez said less than five agencies have aired their concerns to DTI regarding some of their transactions.
One of these agencies is the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), which earlier said that the process for trademark and patent applications take four to 18 months, as these processes also consult international database. “IPOPHL is a different story because it has international treaty that they will have to check on that,” Lopez said.
“So, what will happen is (that) the frontline part will be subjected to the 20 days (rule). But if the process includes validation abroad, it will not be counted because it will go through international process. That’s also beyond our control,” he added.
The trade chief noted that the 3-7-20 rule of the EODB law shall include the business and non-business frontline services of the government. However, he noted that the interagency body crafting the IRR shall define frontline services and which processes would be included in the 3-7-20 rule.
Lopez clarified that the DTI is not giving special treatment to certain agencies, but gives “recognition of different nuances of processes” among public offices. “So it’s not just to give flexibility but recognizing different processes beyond the control of concerned department or agency, and we will have to face that reality,” Lopez said.
He added that there is already a first draft of the IRR of the EODB law, but further consultation with stakeholders will be done in the coming months for added details and inputs. “We have to tackle and fine tune so we will have a clean set of rules,” Lopez said. ( Kris Crismundo/PNA)
