Anti-red tape body claims high resolution rate despite lack of IRR, chief

MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Red Tape Authority on Wednesday claimed to have posted a high resolution rate on complaints it has received even without an anti-red tape czar or the implementing rules of the Ease of Doing Business Law.

ARTA deputy director general Ernesto Perez said more than 52% of the 166 complaints received by his agency have been resolved. He said a complaint is considered resolved if the concerned agency acts on it and the complainant is satisfied with the response. 

Of the complaints, 48% were about queries on services related to Social Security System benefits and birth certificates while more than 47% were concerned about business permits and licenses to operate, Perez said.

There were also complaints about regulation of policies.

Perez said agencies that were the subject of most of the complaints were the Bureau of Internal Revenue, local governments and the Food and Drug Administration.  

"Even without the IRR (implementing rules and regulations), we are already implementing the law because the law says it is effective June 17, 2018, so we are not relying on the IRR," Perez said in a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in February that the Ease of Doing Business Law is already in effect even without the implementing rules and regulations, which are prepared by the executive department to guide the implementation of a law.

"The only problem now is we still don’t have the director general for the Arta tasked to issue the IRR to the public. It is stated in the law that the director general is the only one authorized to officially issue the IRR," Lopez was quoted as saying in a BusinessMirror report that month.

"The number of complaints received by ARTA is also increasing and we are glad to inform the public that the resolution rate of ARTA is high, more than 52%; in less than two months, we already had a resolution," Perez said Wednesday.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Ease of Doing Business Law in May 2018. It has been more than a year since the law was signed but its IRR has yet to be approved. Duterte has also yet to appoint an anti-red tape czar, a position created by the law. 

Business groups have said an IRR is needed to fully implement the law and to simplify government transactions. 

Perez could not say what is delaying the approval of the IRR and the appointment of an anti-red tape czar. But he maintained that the absence of the IRR does not hinder the implementation of the law. 

"We are determined and we are implementing the law, so therefore if we receive complaints and there is evidence, we prosecute," he said. 

Under the Ease of Doing Business Law, the government should complete simple transactions within three working days and complex transactions within seven working days. 

Agencies are given 20 working days to finish highly technical transactions. It also requires all government units to streamline procedures for the issuance of permits, clearance and other type of authorizations by implementing the unified business application form. 

Employees who violate the law may be slapped with a six-month suspension, dismissal from service, forfeiture of benefits, perpetual disqualification from government service, fines ranging from P500,000 to P2 million or a jail term that lasts for one to six years.