EDITORIAL – The devil is in the implementation

Investors are hailing President Duterte’s enactment of Republic Act 11032. Also called the Ease of Doing Business Act, RA 11032 amended RA 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Law of 2007. The government must not disappoint those who are lauding the signing of the new law.

This time, RA 11032 prescribes specific periods for completing transactions with the government: three working days for simple transactions, seven for complex transactions, and 20 for “highly technical applications.” In case there is no approval of the transaction within the prescribed period, the application is deemed approved.

The new law streamlines procedures for securing fire clearances and certificates – one of the biggest causes of delays in securing business permits and related documents. Bureau of Fire Protection personnel are barred from selling or recommending specific products or brands of fire extinguishers and other fire safety equipment. A central business portal and Anti-Red Tape Authority will be set up, and an advisory council will be organized to promote ease of doing business.

As in RA 9485 and other laws, the devil is always in the implementation. The fact that RA 11032 had to be passed over a decade after the Anti-Red Tape Act was enacted indicates how the original law failed to fully live up to its promise.

The best laws are only as good as their implementation. Perhaps heavier penalties under RA 11032 will improve compliance in the bureaucracy. The new law imposes a so-called two-strike policy on violators. For the first offense, the administrative punishment is suspension for six months, apart from possible criminal liability for offenses covered by the Revised Penal Code. A second offense will include both administrative and criminal cases, with penalties to include dismissal from the service, permanent disqualification from holding public office, forfeiture of retirement benefits, a fine ranging from P500,000 to P2 million and imprisonment of one to six years.

Those are stiff penalties for red tape. Authorities must not hesitate to apply the penalties. Seeing the law being fully enforced is the best way to show public servants that this time, the government means business in eradicating red tape. The Philippines ranks low in ease of doing business within the region. The new law should help the country catch up with its neighbors.