FDA told to step up MSME registrations

CEBU, Philippines — The Regional Development Council in Central Visayas has asked the Food and Drug Administration to fast track the registration processing for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the region.

Melanie Ng, RDC economic development chair, said the FDA is being requested to include Central Visayas in the pilot implementation of the agency's IDOL program, which aims to cut processing time for license approval.

Speaking at the RDC full-council meeting in Cebu City yesterday, she said the certificate of product registration and license to operate are among the applications MSMEs need to get approved by the FDA.

The FDA recently launched IDOL's pilot program in National Capital Region to facilitate the issuance of permits to operate to micro enterprises producing low-risk goods with capitalization of not more than P3 million.

The IDOL is aligned with the Ease of Doing Business Act, whose implementing rules and regulations (IRR) is yet to be released.

The program's aim is to reduce processing time for a business to get its license to operate within 20 days after FDA's receipt of the application.

Ng said Central Visayas should be included in the program’s pilot implementation given the major stake of the region’s MSMEs in sectors covered by FDA.

After the pilot run, the government will evaluate the program’s effectiveness and prepare for a possible rollout in more regions throughout the Philippines.