Anti-Red Tape body seeks top 20% spot for PH in WB’s Business Ready rank

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The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is readying its work program aimed at lifting the Philippines’ rank in the Business Ready survey released by the World Bank (WB) last October.

The agency, in collaboration with other government entities, will establish the “Be Ready Task Force” with ARTA as the chair and the Department of Finance as vice-chair, said ARTA director-general Ernesto Perez at a forum in Quezon City on Monday.

The forum, called “New Insight on the Philippine Business Environment: Exploring the World Bank Business Report” is the country’s initiative in response to the World Bank report.

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Perez said ARTA will launch in May 2025 the “Be Ready Reform Guidebook” which will simplify legal processes, streamline government services, and optimize resource management.

ARTA will partner with private and public sectors in putting up one- stop shops for critical sectors like responsible mining, energy, socialized housing, water and semiconductor.

“These industries will drive the economy,” Perez said, citing the success of streamlined processing of permits for telecommunication infrastructure.

He said in just one year of implementation in 2023, the initiative facilitated the release of 26,000 permits.

The 2024 Be Ready report ranked the Philippines in the top 40 percentile globally, with scores of 71 for regulatory framework, 58 for operational efficiency, and 51 for public services. 

In a previous Malaya Business Insight report, Perez said the Philippines targets to move up to the top 20 percentile of business-ready countries by 2026.

The Be Ready Task Force aims to enhance business regulations.

Perez said it will also continue to push digitalization in the permitting process used by local government units (LGUs).

Since the Ease of Doing Business Act was implemented in 2018, only 112 out of 1,483 LGUs have set up their own electronic business processing to help investors set up their businesses.

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