Quezon City: The Philippine government has slashed permit processing time by more than 90 percent in key sectors, which significantly improves the ease of doing business and attracts more investments, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said.
According to Philippines News Agency, in a forum celebrating the Ease of Doing Business month in Quezon City, ARTA Director General Ernesto Perez highlighted the major regulatory gains achieved through its National Effort for Harmonization of Efficient Measures of Inter-related Agencies (NEHEMIA) Program. This initiative has streamlined bureaucratic procedures in sectors such as telecommunications, energy, construction, housing, logistics, food and pharmaceuticals, mining, agriculture, semiconductor, and water.
Among the most significant improvements were in telecommunication infrastructure, where the average permit processing time for shared passive telecommunications towers infrastructure (PTTI) was reduced from 241 days to 16 days, marking a 93 percent decline. The number of permits required has decreased from 13 to eight, while documentary requirements have been cut from 86 to 35.
For fiber poles and facilities, the permit requirements were reduced from 11 to five, and documentary requirements from 62 to 26, leading to a reduction in average processing time from 868 days to only 74 working days. ARTA credits the successful implementation of these reforms to close coordination among national government agencies, local government units, and private partners.
Perez noted that Executive Order No. 32, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., institutionalized these reforms and streamlined permitting across the priority sectors. These changes have enhanced internet speed in the country, with mobile speeds rising from 18.68 megabits per second (Mbps) in 2022 to 27.75 Mbps in 2024, and fixed broadband nearly doubling from 46.44 Mbps to 92.19 Mbps.
These advances have helped the Philippines climb 31 spots in the United Nations e-Participation Index, now at 49th, and 16 spots in the e-Government Development Index, now at 73rd, reflecting major strides in digital governance and service delivery. Perez emphasized the importance of adopting an ex-ante, or forward-looking Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA), to maintain the quality of the regulatory environment.
"Ex-ante RIA will filter regulations based on their quality, thereby preventing outdated, redundant, and conflicting regulations from entering the regulatory requirement," Perez stated. Additionally, ARTA's Philippine Business Regulations Information System (PBRIS), a centralized online platform, allows businesses to view current and proposed regulations, promoting transparency in government regulations.
As of 2024, 220 government agencies have been onboarded to PBRIS, with 44 submitting annual regulatory plans covering 12 regulatory actions this year. ARTA is also developing a national inventory of regulations for renewable energy and digital connectivity sectors, expected to be uploaded by mid-2025.
"When we streamline and digitalize government processes, this is the best way to fight red tape and corruption, and in the process, we will see the impact," Perez concluded.
