PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte will sign next week the Ease of Doing Business bill, which requires government agencies, including local government units, to reduce processing time for applicants seeking to obtain business permits and official documents.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the president will sign the bill Monday.

The processing time for “simple transactions” will be set at three days at maximum and “complex transactions” have a seven-day deadline while “highly-technical applications” have been allotted 20 days.

Failure to meet these deadlines will be penalized with 30 days’ suspension without pay on first offense and a three-month suspension without pay on second offense.

A third offense will lead to dismissal and disqualification from public office; the forfeiture of civil service eligibility and retirement benefits; and possible imprisonment for one to six years.

The government is hoping to improve its standing in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business rankings after the Philippines fell 14 places in 2018.

The Philippines’ ranking also declined 9 places to 50th out of 63 economies surveyed in the recently published World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) compiled by the International Institute of Management Development (IMD).

Asked for comment, Mr. Lopez said the WCY survey was “hard to believe” considering the country’s strong economic growth.

“We have one of the fastest growth rates in the world. Faster than most peers. And infrastructure improvements are continuing,” Mr. Lopez said in a mobile message.

Mr. Lopez is expecting the government’s recent efforts “to enable us to improve our ranking soon.” — Janina C. Lim









