The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is preparing 20 local government units (LGUs) to be connected to the Philippine Business Registry (PBR) this year in line with its target to fully implement the online system by 2020.
Neda secretary-general Ernesto Pernia said during the recent ?Philippine Development Forum: Sulong Pilipinas 2017? that going online would enable the LGUs to facilitate start-ups and help reduce transaction costs.
The PBR aims to facilitate a seamless transactional environment for business registration and development across the application systems of various government agencies and LGUs.
Under the new Philippine Development Plan (PDP), Pernia said that improving the ease of doing business is highlighted as a development priority of the administration by simplifying government transactions by cutting the documentary requirements, steps, processing time, and the number of signatories.
Pernia said these should cover passports, driving licenses, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), LGU processes, and services for overseas Filipino workers.
Promoting the ease of doing business and facilitate access to services for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were among the top 10 recommendations submitted by the private sector for the government to consider at last year’s Sulong Pilipinas forum under the socio-economic agenda of the Duterte administration.
Others include addressing the bottlenecks on implementing infrastructure projects, the comprehensive tax reform and improving transport networks across the country. — Edu Lopez
