Task force on competitiveness formed

MANILA, Philippines - With the country rating low in global surveys on competitiveness and ease in doing business, President Aquino has created an inter-agency task force to address the problems.

Administrative Order 38 creates the Task Force on Ease of Doing Business (EODB Task Force), which will implement an action plan drafted by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).

“The EODB Task Force is seen to significantly help improve our ranking in the survey since it is tasked to ensure the full implementation of the Gameplan for Competitiveness designed by the NCC and endorsed by the Economic Development Cluster,” Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said.

The task force will be led by the Secretary of Trade and Industry, with representatives of the NCC and departments of Finance, the Interior and Local Government, and Justice among its members.

The Bureaus of Internal Revenue and Customs, Land Registration Authority, Credit Information Corp., Securities and Exchange Commission, Social Security System, Home Development Mutual Fund and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. are the other members.

AO 38 directs the task force to review and develop policies, programs and guidelines to ensure the implementation of the Gameplan for Competitiveness, re-evaluate and adopt measures to achieve goals in 2013 and finalize the goals for 2014 onwards, and coordinate with concerned agencies for the inclusion of the targets in the performance goals of concerned departments in their respective performance-based incentive systems.

The EODB Task Force will also recommend to the President measures to promote transparency and efficiency in business practices in the country.

It is also directed to submit a report to the Office of the President through the Economic Development Cluster within 60 days from the issuance of the AO and every six months thereafter.

The budget of the task force will be taken from the respective budgets of member-agencies, with subsequent funding requirements to be incorporated in the annual budget proposals of each of the member-agencies.

Aquino called for the participation and assistance of concerned local government units, as well private and public institutions, including government-owned and -controlled corporations in the implementation and accomplishment of targets provided in the Gameplan for Competitiveness.

The Philippines ranks 138th out of 185 countries and is eighth of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Doing Business Survey (DBS) of the World Bank-International Finance Corp.