Press Release
June 5, 2018

Koko to focus on proper implementation of new ease of doing business law

New Senate Trade and Commerce and Entrepreneurship Chairperson Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III announced on Tuesday that one of the priorities of the Committee would be to ensure the smooth and proper implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery (EODB) Act of 2018, stressing that the law, "if properly implemented, would make the country more competitive and help bring more business into the country."

President Rodrigo Duterte signed RA 11032 last week, a measure that was crafted to reduce red tape and speed up, streamline, and modernize the processing of government-required permits and licenses necessary for setting up businesses in the country.

According to Pimentel, "the new law should not share the fate of other excellent legislative measures that were passed by Congress but not properly implemented."

Pimentel said that as co-chair of the Congressional Oversight Committee tasked to monitor the implementation of RA 11032, he would work closely with the Department of Trade and Industry, the Civil Service Commission, and other agencies tasked to implement the law "to ensure that all components of the law are maximized so that businessmen and the public feel the full benefits of the law."

Section 28 of the EODB Act of 2018 mandates the creation of a Congressional Oversight Committee on Ease of Doing Business (COC-EODB) to be composed of "five members from the Senate, which shall include the Chairpersons of the Senate Committees on Trade and Commerce and Entrepreneurship, Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, and Economic Affairs; and five members from the House of Representatives, which shall include the chairpersons of the House Committees on Trade and Industry, Civil Service and Professional Regulation, Government Reorganization, and Economic Affairs."

The COC-EODB shall be jointly chaired by the Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce and Entrepreneurship and the House of Represenatives Committee on Trade and Industry.

The Mindanao native added that the Senate Trade Committee would be "paying close attention" to the timelines enumerated in the EODB Act, particularly with regard to the finalization of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law and the review and possible repeal of outdated, redundant and unnecessary licenses, clearances, permits, certifications or authorizations being required by NGAs, LGUs, and private entities that will be conducted by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

A creation of RA 11032, ARTA is a new office attached to the Office of the President that will be primarily responsible for monitoring compliance with the said law.

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