Automation to leapfrog PH rank in Doing Business Report

FILE: Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government would shift its goal from aiming for marginal increase in rankings to leapfrogging its spot in the Doing Business report of the World Bank, targeting to place in the top 20 percent of the rankings. (Photo: ALBERT ALCAIN/PPD)

MANILA — Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government would shift its goal from aiming for marginal increase in rankings to leapfrogging its spot in the Doing Business report of the World Bank, targeting to place in the top 20 percent of the rankings.

In a press conference Thursday, Lopez said this would be possible if processes to do business in the country would be streamlined and automation would be implemented in the system.

He mentioned that by December, the government targets to start linking processes in doing business in one portal.

For instance, the DTI’s Philippine Business Registry (PBR) and the Business Name Registration System, which are currently running separately, will be rationalized in one portal.

This will be expanded by linking other processes from several agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and local government units (LGUs) among many others.

Lopez added that the government is also looking at giving a specific business number for a business entity, which would be its identification number in all other offices processing their permits and licenses needed to do business in the country.

He added that they are also eyeing for a one-form system applicable to different agencies in order to cut the time in filling out application and registration forms.

“We hope this to be the source of our leapfrogging (in ranking) next year,” said Lopez.

In the Doing Business 2018 report of the World Bank released Wednesday, the Philippines fell by 14 notches to 113th place from 99th place in last year’s report.

National Competitiveness Council (NCC) Philippines Co-Chair Guillermo Luz said only three out of 17 reforms submitted by the Philippine government were accepted to be included in the latest report.

But Luz noted that despite the drop in ranking, the country’s distance to frontier score improved by 0.42 percentage points to 58.74 this year from 58.32 last year.

The NCC official explained that even the Philippines made reforms to ease doing business in the country, other economies were aggressive in implementing their own reforms.

Moreover, among the commitments of the government to ease doing business in the country include amending the Corporation Code, shortening of incorporation process in the SEC, creating the Philippine Business Data Bank, setting up an automated credit information system, setting up Collateral Registry, rolling out the National Single Window, completing the pilot e-Courts System, construction, and streamlining business permits process.