STARTING a business and the insolvency process were identified as among the key obstacles to the government’s Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) goals, according to the foundation tapped as a private-sector partner by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).
Roberto A. Alvarez, Jr., president of the Philippines-Ease of Doing Business Foundation, Inc., said late Tuesday that the organization will be assisting the ARTA in reviewing regulatory processes to supplement ARTA’s limited manpower and funding.
“We just want the system to run smoothly so that it is easier to do business because it’s hard to do business right now, as half of (consists of) compliance,” he added.
The foundation was endorsed as the private sector convenor for a nationwide review of regulatory processes by the Ease of Doing Business-Anti Red Tape Advisory Council.
“I think the foreign investors will be happy about this because they are going to know that this is serious,” Mr. Alvarez said on the sidelines of a dinner meeting on Tuesday.
Mr. Alvarez said that the goal of the review is to cut redundant policies and benchmark it with other countries’ processes.
“We can see many of the steps are unnecessary. (They were put in place by the government) maybe two to three presidents ago. It’s no longer necessary,” he said.
“We will tell them to remove that. In short, the process should continue to get shorter,” he added.
He also said the foundation as sought the help of ambassadors in benchmarking Philippine processes against those in place in other countries.
“Other countries are being voted the best (places to do business) because their processes are simple and short,” he added.
The foundation hopes to present its findings and recommendations arising from the review to ARTA and the Office of the President.
“We are assisting ARTA in the review, but our authority ends with making suggestions,” he said.
He noted that the public works corruption scandals might have been avoided “if the system was designed better.”
“Maybe hindi nila ’yon magagawa ng basta-basta (They might not have been able to pull it off so easily),” he said, referring to corrupt practices in the infrastructure program.
“What we will look for is a system with integrity, which doesn’t have to be complicated,” he added.
The foundation is an arm of the Buklod Bayani Coalition, a multisectoral collaboration led by ARTA and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Its members include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, International Chamber of Commerce-Philippines, Philippine Exporters Confederation, and Employers Confederation of the Philippines. — Justine Irish D. Tabile