Over 35K permits issued as government trims procedures

MANILA, Philippines — Over 35,000 permits have been released by the government as of June amid efforts to streamline processes, according to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).

In a statement yesterday, the ARTA said the issuance of at least 35,146 permits was expedited through the push to address red tape in government processes.

ARTA said the figure includes 8,510 permits, licenses, clearances and certifications automatically approved or released by different government agencies from July 2019 up to June this year.

By streamlining government processes, ARTA director general Jeremiah Belgica said the country would be able to curb red tape and corruption.

ARTA launched the National Effort for Harmonization of Efficient Measures of Inter-related Agencies program which aims for a 52 percent reduction in the processes, requirements, and processing time in five priority sectors.

With the telecommunications sector identified as a priority sector, a joint memorandum circular was released by ARTA and other agencies in July last year to streamline the permitting process for telco towers.

This has resulted in the release of 26,636 pending permits in the telecommunications sector as of June this year.

Of the total permits released in the telco sector, bulk or 21,689 are for PLDT Inc. or Smart Communications, 3,090 for Dito Telecommunity Corp. and 1,857 for Globe Telecom.

ARTA said it has also taken action on at least 1,178 complaints concerning violations of Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act for the period of December 2019 to June this year.

Of the complaints, 235 are under investigation, 537 have been resolved, and the rest are being reviewed.

ARTA has also turned over 5,630 complaints not related to red tape to appropriate agencies.

In addition, ARTA said at least 528 cases have been filed against those with violations of the Ease of Doing Business Act as of June this year.

As the Ease of Doing Business Act also requires the establishment of an electronic business one-stop shop (e-BOSS), the ARTA has directed all local government units (LGUs) to set up their online platform for business registration.

As of June, at least 580 LGUs have an e-BOSS.