MANILA — The government has introduced a series of red-tape cutting measures to make it easier for investors to do business in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
In a statement Thursday, trade and industry Secretary Ramon Lopez said these mechanisms were presented to the visiting representatives of the World Bank and International Finance Corp. (WB-IFC), who are in the process of writing the 2019 Doing Business Report. WB-IFC Doing Business topic team leaders, Nadine Abi Chakra and Nuno Filipe Mendes dos Santos, conducted a validation mission here to countercheck if the measures the Philippine government said it would put in place to ease doing business, are already in place.
Among the initiatives that the government has rolled out to make life for investors more convenient are the Company Registration System of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Single Window Transaction Project of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the One-Stop Shop for Business Permits in Quezon City.
Lopez explained that the measures implemented by the SEC include the automation of the business registration process. In the meantime, the BIR has made it easier for applicants to submit their requirements and has fast-tracked the process to obtain the Certificate of Registration and Authority.
For its part, the local government of Quezon City — the subject location in the Philippines for the 2019 Doing Business Report — has put the Business Permits and Licensing Office, the Zoning Office, the Treasurer’s Office, and the Bureau of Fire Protection in one location. The One-Stop Shop for Business Permit has eliminated the need for applicants to go to different offices for submission of requirements and getting their permits.
These measures cut the procedures of setting up a business from 16 steps down to 10, and the processing period from 28 days down to 16, the trade chief said.
The government targets to complete submission of its full report for the 2019 Doing Business report to the World Bank and IFC early next month.
Lopez said he hopes that these reforms would improve the country’s ranking in the WB-IFC Doing Business index.
The Philippines’ ranking in the WB-IFC 2018 Doing Business Report slid to 113th from its previous 99th spot. Apart from improving the country’s ranking in the global report, Lopez said these reforms are aimed at making the business climate better.
“With these reforms, we are optimistic that investors will be keen on expanding their businesses in the country and provide more jobs for Filipinos,” he noted. (PNA)
