Law expected to improve PH doing business ranking

REPUBLIC Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Philippines’ standing in a World Bank’s doing

The law, signed by President Duterte in May this year, can sig

- ings in the 2020 Doing Business (DB) Survey if government agencies strictly implement it, Trade Undersecretary Rowel Barba said.

the country improve and “even move forward in several indicators of the DB Survey Report.”

“RA 11032 is now in place. If we implement this law to the letter, there is no doubt we can close the gap between us and the frontier,” Barba told public and private sector participants of the Accelerating EODB Reform Initiatives for the Doing Business 2020 Strategy workshop on Wednesday.

He called on all concerned agencies to seriously identify the country’s position and move it closer to those at the frontier.

The new law mandates government agencies to comply with prescribed processing time for business transactions.

It also requires local govern-

procedures in issuing business permits, clearances, and other kinds of authorization by implementing

Processing time for simple business transactions would take only three working days, seven working

20 working days for highly technical ones.

Implementing rules and regula-

completed by this month, Barba earlier said.

He said “since the law became effective on June 17, we have until

the IRR.”

- holders to brace for the 2020 survey despite the forthcoming release of the 2019 DB report this month.

In the 2018 Doing Business report, the World Bank reported that the country ranked 113th out of the economies from 99th a year earlier.

Measured in terms of the distance to the frontier (DTF) or the best observed performance across all economies, the country’s score of

and zero the lowest) increased by 0.42 but was still lower than the East

It was also much lower than neighbors Thailand and Malaysia, which respectively ranked 26th and 24th and scored 77.44 and 78.43.

The Philippines notched its best in terms of getting electricity (31st)

However, it was in the bottom half for the rest of the indicators: trading across borders ( 99th), dealing with construction permits

registering property (114th), getting credit ( 142nd), protecting minority investors (146th), and enforcing contracts (149th).

Its worst ranking was in the starting a business indicator where it was in 173rd place.

In terms of DTF, the country

- cators, notched a drop in terms of resolving insolvency and recorded no improvement in terms of getting credit, protecting minority investors, trading across borders and enforcing contracts.

lowest DTF score (30) while getting electricity was the highest (84.31).

cited the reforms made in the as-

electricity.

Barba, who also heads the DTI’s Competitiveness and Ease of Do-

said reforms must be in place from May this year until the following year.

“We need to do a massive information campaign to inform the public about the reforms that government has already undertaken. There is a need for “radical and transformative reforms so that the Philippines can leapfrog forward in the survey,” he added.