Published May 10, 2021, 3:46 PM
The Anti-Red Tape Authority is currently looking into a report that some pharmaceutical companies willing to set up vaccine manufacturing facilities have experienced extortion.
ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica was informed about this last Friday during his guesting at “The Virtual Presser” with foreign media hosted by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Global Media Affairs.
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica (FACEBOOK/MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
One of the reporters present at the press briefing relayed that his previous interview with an economic group revealed that about three pharmaceutical firms backed out from putting up vaccine plants in the country after they were asked to pay illegal fees.
na kadalasan ay nagkakaroon ho ng mga mahahabang pagho-hold
ng iba’t-ibang LGUs
na kanilang dinadaanan,” said Belgica.
[Translation: Our JMC will help truckers who frequently experience prolonged holding up by different LGUs they pass through.]
Belgica is referring to JMC No. 2021-01, which enjoins local chief executives to refrain from enacting any current ordinance which authorizes the collection of fees and taxes on the transport of goods or merchandise between provinces along with regulatory fees in local ports and charges in any form.
The anti-red tape body inked the circular with the Finance and Interior departments to curb any practices exacting fees and placing stickers on transporting entities for each local government unit they will be passing through.
ARTA
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica made the statement after the World Bank reported in its Doing Business (DB) Report revealed that the Philippines ranked 95th out of 190 economies with a score of 62.8 in 2020, jumping 29 notches from no. 124 with a 57.68 score in 2019.
The World Bank rates a country’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) performance based on 10 indicators that represent the life cycle of a business namely Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permits, Getting Electricity, Registering Property, Getting Credit, Protecting Minority Investors, Paying Taxes, Trading Across Borders, Enforcing Contracts, and Resolving Insolvency.
During the agency’s EODB Summit on Thursday, Belgica reported the progress made in doing business in the country.
Published May 7, 2021, 9:10 AM
The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) cited improvements in the country’s ease of doing business, but has asked the World Bank to review its survey methodologies to ensure that the country’s efforts are reflected in the overall ranking.
During the agency’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Summit titled “Forging Forward, Overcoming Adversity: Ease of Doing Business in the Time of Pandemic”, ARTA Director General Jeremiah Belgica reported the progress made in doing business in the country.
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica (FACEBOOK/MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
One stark example of the development was the outcome of the 2020 World Bank – Doing Business Report where the Philippines ranked 95th out of 190 economies with a score of 62.8, jumping 29 notches from no. 124 and 57.68 score in 2019.
ARTA
ARTA made the statement following President Duterte’s directive to set up a green lane for faster permit processing of local COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to reduce dependency on imported jabs.
In a statement, ARTA Deputy Director-General Ernesto Perez said one of the aims of the JMC that they are crafting is to standardize the documentary requirements, steps, and processing time for the applying companies during the pandemic.
“We will implement those processes and permits under an emergency, without of course sacrificing the safety features of the COVID-19 vaccine we are envisioning to be manufactured in our own country,” he said.