BIZ SUMMIT. Anti-Red Tape Authority Secretary Ernesto Perez spearheads the ease of doing business summit at Fort Ilocandia Hotel in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte on Friday (Nov. 10, 2023). The summit aims to empower government offices and the private sector to deliver timely and hassle-free services. (PNA photo by Leilanie Adriano)
LAOAG CITY - The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is urging local government units to streamline their procedures and see better results in creating a vibrant economy driven by the private sector.
ARTA is spearheading a series of regional summits, now on its third leg in this city, to help empower government offices and the private sector deliver timely and hassle-free services.
“In order to gain the support of local and foreign investors, there’s a need for a stronger collaboration not just with local government units but more so with the private sector,” Secretary Ernesto Perez said in his speech during a summit here Friday, attended by local government officials from the Ilocos and Cagayan Regions, as well as representatives of the business community.
In creating a more business-friendly community, local government units, regardless of their income classification, will further improve their economy, Perez said.
As part of streamlining government procedures, ARTA reminds LGUs to comply with the electronic Business One-Stop Shop (eBOSS), a single online portal where clients can access all the necessary services and information for business registration as mandated by Republic Act 11032 (Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act).
ARTA data show that as of August, only 627 out 1,634 local government units have complied.
Of the 627, only 16 are fully automated while the remaining 611 are partially automated.
“eBOSS is highly relevant as it provides a digitalized and streamlined business processing and licensing system that will entice more entrepreneurs to register their business,” Perez said.
Pending the full automation of Laoag’s eBOSS, the city government has been using the integrated Business Permitting and Licensing System or iBPLS for online business permitting system, in cooperation with the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
“This is a testament to our thrust for a more business-friendly, competitive, and progressive Laoag City by providing a more efficient way of doing business and eliminating red tape in the government,” Mayor Michael Keon said in an earlier statement. (PNA)
