WITH the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) law on Wednesday, government officials found to be promoting red tape and corruption may now be suspended on first offense and jailed on second count.
In a news briefing, Anti-Red Tape Authority Director General Jeremiah B. Belgica said the IRR created the mechanism for filing complaints against erring government officials. With this in place, the public can now reach out to the Arta and lodge cases against public servants who failed to deliver services on time.
Under the EODB law, simple government transactions should be completed within three days; complex transactions within seven days; and highly technical transactions within 20 days.
“The IRR was meant to supply all of the details for the full implementation of [the EODB law]. One of the details that was applied was the procedure on how complaints would be made,” Belgica said
Under the mechanism, complainants may send a case report to the Arta through text, e-mail or social media. In doing so, they are required to provide their identity, contact details, the agency that disadvantaged them and the service that was not delivered on time. Further, they should come up with evidence supporting their claim.
If the evidence is substantial, the complainant can proceed with a formal charge, after which the accused will be asked by the Arta to defend himself or herself.
As provided under the IRR, the Arta can recommend the preventive suspension of the accused while the case is ongoing. Once there is a final complaint, the anti-red tape body will relay the case to either the Office of the President, the courts, Commission on Civil Service, Office of the Ombudsman and other administrative agencies relevant in acting on the complaint.
Government officials guilty of committing red tape will be suspended for six months on the first offense. One to six years of imprisonment; a fine of no less than P500,000 but not more than P2 million; and termination of retirement benefits await those who will commit a second count.
International treaties
The law, however, does not cover government bodies that are required to abide by international treaties and standards in delivering their services, such as the Food and Drug Administration, which may take up to 180 days to complete specific services.
Arta Deputy Director General Ernesto V. Perez said the Arta is forced to surrender to international treaties and agreements that govern the services of some agencies. As a result, the EODB law cannot cover their transactions under its standardized calendar.
“These [agencies] are part of the exemptions. We respect international treaties and agreements. We have been saying [the EODB law] is a general law. If it is in conflict with a special law, then the special law will govern,” Perez said.
According to Belgica, his agency is targeting to publish the IRR in a national newspaper on Thursday. It will become effective 15 days after publication.
The EODB law was approved by President Duterte in May of last year. However, only the Arta chief, who was just appointed in early July, is allowed to sign and promulgate its IRR.
As a law aimed at cutting red tape, the government is banking on it to improve the country’s rating in competitiveness surveys, which, in turn, can be used to attract more investors to do business here.
For the second consecutive year, the country’s ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business report fell by double digits. The Philippines’s rank dropped by 11 points to 124th among 190 economies in the 2019 edition of the survey after obtaining poor scores in getting credit, starting a business and enforcing contracts.
When pitted against regional counterparts, the Philippines placed behind Singapore (second), Malaysia (15th), Thailand (27th), Brunei Darussalam (55th), Vietnam (69th) and Indonesia (73rd).