By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is set to sign an executive order (EO) seeking the creation of "green lane" for strategic investments, Malacañang announced Tuesday.
This, developed after Marcos convened a meeting with Trade Secretary
Alfredo Pascual and other officials of the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) at the State Dining Room of Malacañan Palace in Manila.
"President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will be signing an Executive
Order to promote ease of doing business in the Philippines and make it
competitive with other Southeast Asian nations in terms of attracting Foreign
Direct Investments (FDIs)," Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil,
officer-in-charge of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), said in a
statement.
"The EO will mandate concerned offices to establish a Green Lane
to expedite and streamline the process and requirements for the issuance of
permits and licenses, including resolutions of issues concerning strategic
investments," she added.
During the meeting, the DTI presented to Marcos the proposed EO after
identifying the barrier across multiple regulatory agencies that hamper the
smooth entry of FDIs in the country.
Marcos backed the proposal, as he acknowledged that setting up a
"green lane" is a "big help" for firms.
“Malaking bagay ‘yun (That's a big help). That will address
immediately ‘yung tinatawag na ease of doing business na laging
nirereklamo sa atin (the challenges on implementing the ease of doing
business in the country),” Marcos, as quoted by the OPS, told DTI officials
during the meeting.
The proposed "green lane" policy, Marcos said, would enable
the government to change the "extraneous" and "obsolete"
procedures.
Strategic investments
Garafil said the proposed EO will cover all national government
agencies (NGAs) and their regional and provincial offices, local government
units (LGUs) and quasi-judicial bodies involved in issuing permits and licenses
necessary for establishing strategic investments in the country.
The strategic investments include "projects of national
significance, highly desirable projects endorsed by the Fiscal Incentives
Review Board (FIRB) and FDIs endorsed by the Inter-Agency Investments Promotion
Coordination Committee (IAIPCC) or priority projects or activities under the
Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), which are considered as projects of
national significance or highly desirable that may be endorsed by the Board of
Investments (BOI) of the concerned Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs)."
"The EO mandates NGAs and LGUs to act on a permit or license
application not longer than three working days in the case of a simple
transaction, seven working days in the case of complex transactions, and 20
working days for highly technical transactions from the date of receipt,"
she said.
Garafil said a technical working group headed by the DTI’s BOI will be
in charge of implementing the EO.
She said a BOI-Investment Assistance Service (BOI-IAS) will become the
single point of entry of investment availing of the green lane services
endorsed as nationally significant or highly desirable projects.
"Non-compliance with the EO’s provisions will be a ground for
administrative and disciplinary sanctions against any erring public officer or
employee, as provided under existing laws and regulations," Garafil said.
'More conducive' to business opportunities
The proposed green lane is vital in fulfilling the Marcos
administration's goal of making the Philippines "more conducive" to
business opportunities, the Office of the President said in a separate Facebook
post.
During the meeting, Pascual sought the issuance of an executive order
(EO) which allows the creation of a green lane for firms to hasten the
processing of their applications for permits and other needed documents.
"DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual presents the proposed creation of
an Executive Order (EO) on the provision of guidelines in expediting the
process and issuance of permits and licenses for the implementation of
strategic investments in the Philippines, and creation of Green Lane," the
RTVM said.
"This concerns national government agencies (NGAs), including
their regional and provincial offices when applicable, local government units
(LGUs) and quasi-judicial bodies," it added. (PNA)
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