President signs ease of doing business measure into law

May 28, 2018 | 10:06 pm

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law late Monday the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, which amends and expands Republic Act No. 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.

The measure goes into the books as Republic Act 11032.

Senate committee on trade chairman Juan Miguel F. Zubiri said in a statement prior to the signing that the law hopes to “make transparent and facilitate government procedures at all levels.”

Mr. Zubiri, who authored and sponsored the law, said that among its salient features are: “streamlined procedures and shorter processing time for government transactions; automatic approval if an application or request is not acted upon within the prescribed processing time; adoption of Zero Contact policy; creation of the one central business portal to receive and obtain data involving business related transactions; creation of the Philippine Business Databank; creation of the Anti-Red Tape Authority and the Ease of Doing Business/Anti-Red Tape Advisory Council; and increase in penalties, among others.”

“This law is custom-made to hyper-activate businesses in the Philippines. We all want to grow businesses, big or small, be they old establishments or new firms. We all know that the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Law is long overdue,” he said.

The measure passed the bicameral conference committee in February. In the same month, the Senate ratified and adopted the bicameral report harmonizing the provisions of Senate Bill No. 1311 and House Bill No. 6579.

In his sponsorship speech, Mr. Zubiri said the measure includes provisions that streamline procedures for the issuance of local business permits and for securing Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC), Fire Safety Evaluation Clearance (FSEC), and certification of fire incidents. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Source: http://bworldonline.com/president-signs-ease-of-doing-business-measure-into-law/