The year opened with lawmakers no longer exercising wide personal discretion in the utilization of billions of pesos in public funds, and with executive agencies no longer required to secure Special Allotment Release Orders or SAROs from the Department of Budget and Management.
Both moves are meant to promote transparency and accountability in the budget process. The scrapping of the SARO requirement, as pointed out by budget officials, also cuts red tape, which always means reducing opportunities for graft and corruption. This, the Palace hopes, will speed up the implementation of projects and programs by executive agencies.
The SARO requirement has been in place for a long time. If not for a scandal involving the release of fake SAROs allegedly by a group in the budget department, the requirement would not have been abolished. The daang matuwid administration should not stop here. Systems and procedures in many government offices are designed to ensure red tape, with each layer providing opportunities for graft.
The requirements for opening and operating even a small business, imposed by both local and national government offices, are enough to kill any spirit of entrepreneurship in this country. If the cost of corruption is included in the requisite business fees, the total could be greater than the modest amount intended for investment.
In an age when tariff barriers are being brought down around the world and rules are designed to facilitate trade in a global economy, bringing in even a small amount of goods through the Bureau of Customs without resorting to payment of grease money is like going through an obstacle course.
Red tape is worse when business activities compete with the interests of local government officials, their relatives and cronies. Local government red tape is one of the biggest complaints of investors in this country.
Fighting corruption must not be limited to unearthing anomalies and prosecuting crooks. Reforms must also be built into the system. The scrapping of the long-entrenched SARO requirement shows that red tape can be cut and systems can be overhauled to plug opportunities for corruption and deliver efficient public service. The administration must sustain this momentum and review areas for drastic reforms in other agencies.