A letter from ARTA

Malacañang, through Senior PCO Undersecretary Honey Rose V. Mercado, sent on Oct. 9, 2023 a follow-up letter to the Oct. 3, 2023 letter of Secretary Ernesto V. Perez, director general of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), clarifying certain points in my Oct. 3, 2023 column “Ten minutes for business permits mean government means business.”

Now, I am convinced government is indeed serious – about writing letters.

In my Oct. 3 column, I wrote:

“Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) BenHur Abalos should order his 1,500 town and city mayors to process business permits in 10 minutes or less. A business permit in 10 minutes is the best proof that the government means business.

“Ten minutes is the global standard for processing business permits. That is how it is done in countries like New Zealand, Canada and Singapore.   These are much smaller countries than the Philippines in population, although infinitely richer. Yet, they set the global standard in the efficiency, competence and honesty of their government.”

Here are excerpts from Secretary Perez’s letter. Seriously, why does being an anti-red tape czar require a Cabinet rank? Is the problem that serious?

Sec Perez’s letter:

“First and foremost, we would like to clarify that the 2020 World Bank Ease of Doing Business Survey assessed the country’s performance on this matter for the year 2019, just a year after the signing and implementation of Republic Act 11032, also known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Services Delivery Act. Unfortunately, the World Bank discontinued the report in 2020 due to data irregularities. Consequently, there has been no international index or survey to measure the progress made by the government in providing easy, fast and reliable government services to the public.

“Regarding the feasibility of LGUS issuing business permits in just 10 minutes, it’s important to note that RA 11032 mandates LGUs to implement an electronic Business One-Stop Shop (EBOSS) with specific features, including:

• Accepting online or electronic application submissions

• Providing a gateway facility linked to courier services for those preferring hard copies

• Accepting