A senior lawmaker on Monday reminded local government units (LGUs) on the provisions of the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) law that they only have until June this year to put their respective electronic business one-stop shops (BOSS) in place.
In a news statement, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte called on local executives to fast-track the digitalization programs of their respective local government units (LGUs) to speed up the contactless delivery of frontline services to the public and the shift to paperless transactions.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated our transition to electronic-based transactions. The LGUs should step up their efforts in putting up their respective online business registration processes to stay ahead of the game and make their localities more conducive to business, especially amid the pandemic,” said Villafuerte, an author of Republic Act (RA) 11032 or the EODB law.
According to the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta), LGUs will be required to move their entire business permit application processes online by mid-June.
The Arta and other government agencies recently signed a joint memorandum circular (JMC) to standardize the online business registration process that would cut the number of required application forms to just one.
Earlier, Villafuerte said LGUs could help Malacañang improve the Philippines’s global competitiveness in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI) by putting up their respective BOSS centers in support of RA 11032 and Administrative Order AO 23, which directed all government offices to eliminate cumbersome official processes that impact businesses and investments.
In AO 23, President Duterte sought the elimination or reduction of “excessive regulations at all levels of government, which are more than necessary to implement their respective mandates, create high costs on businesses, inhibit job creation and discourage private sector investment.”