Ni: Quincy Joel V. Cahilig
PAGNENEGOSYO walang tigil ang mga hakbanging isinasagawa ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa pagsugpo sa katiwalian. Kamakailan nga ay sinibak niya sa pwesto ang ilang opisyal ng gobyerno dahil sa pagkakasangkot ng mga ito sa kurapsyon, na dumudungis at nakakasagabal sa paghahatid ng tamang serbisyong nararapat na matamasa ng mamamayan at pumipigil sa pag-arangkada ng ekonomiya ng bansa, tungo sa maginhawang pamumuhay ng bawat miyembro ng lipunan.
Kaagapay nito ay ang isang mahalagang hakbangin kontra katiwalian, na pagsasabatas ng Republic Act No. 11032 o Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act. Layunin nito na pabilisin ang pagpoproseso sa mga dokumentong kailangan sa pagnenegosyo tulad ng permits, applications, at iba pang mga transaksyon.
Sa isang simpleng seremonya sa Malakanyang, nilagdaan ng Pangulo ang naturang batas na sa tingin niya ay “overdue” na upang tuluyang burahin ang red tape sa gobyerno, upang maka-engganyo ng mas marami pang mamumuhunan sa ating bansa.
“This law will introduce simplified requirements and streamlined procedures that will finally spare our people from the intolerable waiting time and long lines in frontline government agencies,” wika ni Duterte. “This addresses the failure of Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 to solve the perennial problem of bureaucratic red tape in our government institutions.”
Sa ilalim ng bagong batas, tatlong araw lang ang processing time para sa mga simpleng business permit, samantalang pitong araw para sa complex transactions at 20 araw naman para sa mga highly technical application.
Tatlong signatories na lang din ang kakailanganin para sa mga lisensya, clearances, permits, certifications at authorizations. At ipapatupad na rin ang Electronic signatures at automation, sa tulong ng Department of Information and Communications Technology, para maiwasan ang anumang maanomalyang transaksyon.
“One of the priorities of our Ten-Point Socio-Economic Agenda is to encourage competitiveness and improve the overall business environment. We intend to accomplish that by promoting integrity, accountability and good governance in all government transactions. By automating our bureaucratic processes and integrating online mechanisms in day-to-day transactions, we do not just bring our people closer to their government. We also forge a vibrant and productive relationship that will redound to the benefit of the people,” wika ni Duterte.
Ang halaga ng “ease of doing business”
Maliban sa pagdami ng foreign investments, ang paglakas ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas at ng mga karatig bansa sa Asya ay dahil din sa patuloy na pagtaas ng bilang ng mga micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) sa loob ng rehiyon. Ngunit isang mabigat na pasanin ng mga nagsisimulang magnegosyo ang katakut-takot na dami ng proseso at pagkahaba-habang pila na kailangang tiyagain, na ginugugulan ng pera at panahon, magkaroon lamang ng mga kinakailangang dokumento upang mapahintulutan ng pamahalaan na makapagnegosyo. Kaya naman ang iba ay natutukso ng mga fixers at iba’t-ibang “under the table” na transaksyon para mapadali ang proseso.
Ayon sa ulat ng Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, ang problemang ito ay pumipilay sa mga negosyo at maging sa takbo ng ekonomiya sa isang bansa.
“If the requirements of setting up a business are overly burdensome for smaller entrepreneurs or businesses, they often turn to the informal sector to run their operations. This often has less protection for labor conditions, is more vulnerable to economic shocks, and often provides corruption loopholes that end up adding to the costs of doing businesses for them. On the other hand, with more steps and processes to go through, official systems and channels can also face vulnerability to corruption. Therefore, simplifying the set up process for small and medium enterprises can greatly benefit both the government as well as the economic environment.”
Dagdag nito, makatutulong sa mga negosyo, lalo na ang mga MSME, na mapanga-lagaan ang kanilang puhunan kung madali ang proseso.
“Having fewer steps in the process of setting up a business along with less bureaucracy and red tape can help small and medium sized businesses manage their financial resources and credit. It also gives them the opportunity to better manage their finances and allocations for their post-setup operations and the running of their actual businesses.”
Isa ang Pilipinas sa mga bansang may naturang suliranin, na isang sanhi ng pagbagsak nito sa IMD World Competitive Ranking 2018. Sa 63 ekonomiyang kabilang sa report, bumaba ang bansa sa ika- 50 pwesto ngayong taon mula ika-41 noong 2017. Samantala, sa “Doing Business 2018” report ng World Bank ay lumagapak din ang Pilipinas sa ika-113 pwesto mula 99th place noong 2017.
Napapanahon na batas
Ang mismong may akda at sponsor ng batas na si Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri ay nakaranas sa mala-pagong na proseso sa pagkuha ng business permit sa bansa.
“As I had experienced, the hundreds of signatures needed seemed like a sticky web from which there was no escape. Fixers boastfully compounded lies to create a stickier web of ‘lagay’ that forced you to spit out ‘padulas.’ No wonder that the underground economy was booming. We want it to be legal, and yet you are being burdened. Starting from the barangay, going up, it’s difficult to complete documents,” wika ni Zubiri.
Kaya naman naisipan niyang ihain ang batas, na naglalaman ng mga probisyon laban sa katiwalian: “streamlined procedures and shorter processing time for government transactions; automatic approval clause will apply if an application or request is not acted upon within the prescribed processing time; adoption of Zero Contact policy, Creation of the One central business portal to receive and obtain data involving business related transactions, Creation of the Philippine Business Databank, Creation of Anti-Red tape Authority and the Ease of Doing Business/Anti-Red Tape Advisory Council; and Increase in penalties, among others.”
Naniniwala ang senador na malaki ang maitutulong ng RA 11032 na maiangat muli sa competitive rankings ang Pilipinas.
“Last month, the World Bank representatives also interviewed me on this legislation, however, they mentioned that the positive effects on the Philippines ranking will be felt much later or until the impact of the implementation of the law is felt by the business community,” sabi ni Zubiri.
