Duterte signs Ease of Doing Business Act

by Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News, May 28, 2018

MANILA (UPDATE) – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday signed the Ease of Doing Business Act, delivering on a campaign promise to make government transactions faster.

The President said Republic Act 11032, which amends the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, “has long been overdue.”

“This addresses the failure of the Anti-Red Tape Act of [2007] to solve the perennial problem of bureaucratic red tape in our government institutions,” Duterte said in a speech in Malacañang.

“This law will introduce simplified requirements and streamlined procedures that will finally spare our people from the intolerable waiting time and long lines in frontline government agencies.”

The law requires government agencies to act on applications within 3 days for simple transactions, 7 days for complex ones and 20 days for the highly technical.

The President described this provision as one of the most important in the newly signed law.

The Ease of Doing Business Act seeks to make the environment more conducive to business by simplifying procedures on the national and local levels.

It also mandates the adoption of a unified application form for local tax and building clearances and sanitary and zoning clearances, among others.

One-stop shops will be established in every city or town and local government units will be encouraged to automate their permit and license processing systems.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology will be tasked to establish a government portal to accept applications from businesses.

The DICT will also create a Philippine Business Registry Databank.

“By automating our bureaucratic processes and integrating online mechanisms in day-to-day transactions, we do not just bring our people closer to their government. We also forge a vibrant and productive relationship that will redound to the benefit of the people,” Duterte said.