The Philippine Coalition of Consumer Welfare Inc. is advising President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to enforce stricter regulations on the Civil Service Commission to achieve ease of doing business for foreign firms.

PCCWI founder Ricardo Samaniego said government agencies should respond to business applications immediately even without the monitoring by the Anti-Red Tape Authority or ARTA.

"The ARTA is actually redundant because the law already requires government agencies to implement efficient public services that, in principle, follow the ARTA's 3-7-20 rule," he told the Daily Tribune.

The rule requires government agencies to act on applications involving simple processes in three days, while seven days or up to 20 days for those applications with complex processes.

Failing to act on applications within the prescribed processing times will render applications to be automatically deemed approved or automatically extended.

The rule was signed by former ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica in 2020 in compliance with the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Services Delivery Act of 2018.

Meanwhile, the Civil Service Commission, which was reorganized in 1986, was tasked under the Administrative Code of 1987 to promote efficiency in public services by creating programs and audit methods for developing and maintaining competency of government workers.

Samaniego, who recently received an ARTA Champion award on behalf of PCCWI for encouraging better public service, admitted multiple government agencies have yet to improve.

Choose employees

with good track records

"Government agencies like the ARTA and the CSC should carefully choose employees with very good track records. They must also invite partners in their advisory councils from the private sectors both from business and consumer organizations to avoid being reactive," he said.

These statements were a response to complaints of foreign investors shared with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"The bureaucracy, from what we're hearing, is even worse right now. Both local and national governments still require a lot of permits whether it's necessary or not, and this drives up the cost of doing business," PCCI president George Barcelon told the Daily Tribune.

Barcelon suggested the government must review policies under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and impose performance monitoring over telecommunications firms aggressively.

"Governance is important. For example, our telecommunications service is still lagging behind other countries. We still experience choppy communication," he stressed.

"I'm not going to talk about other particular issues, but there are really issues on why we are getting a drop in foreign direct investments. It's a telling sign," Barcelon continued.

Data from ARTA show permits released for telecommunications tower constructions have risen to over 36,000 while local government units implementing electronic and automated transactions for business registration have increased to 1,634.

Global image

PCWWI gave Marcos a seven out of ten in performance rating for his efforts last year, mainly consisting of his steps to improve the reputation of the Philippines in the global community.

"Marcos is painted a true statesman as he represented our country very well abroad. He has a star-studded and well-respected economic team," Samaniego said.

However, he said the Marcos administration must also still reduce prices of basic commodities, and healthcare and improve police visibility so the foreign investors can feel safe.