THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), local government units (LGUs) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) topped the list of agencies that received the most number of business-related complaints, according to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta).
Monitoring conducted by the Arta showed that the BIR received 17 complaints, followed by LGUs with seven as of June 25. The FDA and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources were tied with five complaints. Two- thirds of the complaints received by BIR have been resolved.
The Bureau of Customs, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Social Security System had three complaints each.
“These are just the top eight agencies that had received Arta-related business complaints. The rest [of the complaints] are not related to Arta, meaning not involving delay in government,” Arta Officer In Charge and Deputy Director General Ernest V. Perez said in a message shared with media.
Despite the lack of implementing rules and regulations (IRR) to operationalize the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) law, Perez told reporters in a Palace briefing on Wednesday that the Arta has achieved a “high” complaint resolution rate of 52.63 percent. The agency received a total of 166 complaints, which included both business and nonbusiness-related transactions or queries.
Broken down, 77 of the complaints, or 47.83 percent, were about queries on business permits and licenses to operate, while clarifications on SSS benefits and birth certificates reached 68, or 42.24 percent. Arta figures indicated that 15, or 9.32 percent, pertained to regulations or policies.
Of the 17 complaints against the BIR, Perez also noted that 12 have been resolved.
While Arta concerns have been resolved in less than two months, Perez said in a chance interview that he would be happier if the agency could record a higher resolution rate of 90 to 100 percent.
More than a year after the President signed the EODB law, the President has yet to appoint the director general of Arta, who has the sole authority to sign and issue the IRR.
In April, Perez said he had already requested Malacañang to grant him the authority to sign and issue the IRR.
However, he said his request is still subject to “further study” by the Office of the President.
“We leave it up to the President because as we say, as public servants, we serve at the pleasure of the President, and we leave it to the discretion of the President whether or not to approve our recommendation,” he said.
Perez said there was also no explanation given to him as to why the President has not yet appointed an Arta chief.
However, he said the lack of an IRR does not mean that the government is not implementing the EODB law. “Even without the IRR, we are already implementing the law.”
Responding to criticisms from business leaders that red tape continues to burden businesses and citizens, Perez said: “It would have been more burdensome if the law was not implemented because there is no IRR.”
Business leaders polled by the BusinessMirror said the EODB law has yet to make its impact on their operations because its IRR are not yet promulgated. The EODB law is aimed at cutting red tape and streamlining government transactions.
The government is hoping to improve the country’s rating competitiveness surveys, including the annual World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report, which ranked Manila as 124th among 190 economies in the 2019 cycle.
The passage of the EODB law sought to reduce transaction time for obtaining permits and licenses to three working days for simple procedures; seven working days for complex ones; and 20 working days for highly technical ones.
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