22 November 2022 – Secretary Ernesto V. Perez, Director General of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), says that the agency will seek stronger collaboration with government agencies and organizations in the health sector to further harmonize government processes and regulations to fully move to digitalization.

This, after earning support and commitment from the Food and Drug Administration Director General Dr. Samuel Zacate, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) President Eli Dino Santos and Vice President Walter Bacareza, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Lord Villanueva, Department of Health Director Ariel Valencia, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum, and other government agencies in its recently held Health Forum 2022.

Executives from leading pharmaceutical industry organizations, including Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Dr. William Co, Philippine India Business Council Chairman Johnny Chotrani, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Rex Daryanani, PHILEXPORT President Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr., Philippine Coalition of Consumer Welfare Inc. Founder Ric Samaniego, lauded ARTA’s past accomplishments and expressed optimism in its forthcoming reforms.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, government agencies adopted ARTA’s policy recommendations after it held dialogues and meetings with stakeholders.

Together with the PhilHealth, ARTA fast-tracked the processing of hospital health insurance claims.

ARTA also coordinated with the DOH on streamlining the application process of COVID-19 Molecular Laboratories and devices and technologies like testing kits.

The FDA and ARTA also worked on the streamlining of the processes and requirements for the issuance of the License to Operate (LTO) and use of the digital platform in the application and issuance of the LTO and Certificate of Product Registration. Through ARTA, the FDA is also now linked to the Philippine Business Hub and applying companies can post digital payments to the FDA through the Land Bank of the Philippines’ LinkBiz Portal.

FDA DG Zacate likewise expressed his support to “veteran” Perez, who led the crafting of the aforementioned policy recommendations in his previous post as Deputy Director General for Operations.

DG Perez responded that the Authority is ready to assist the government through its capacitating function pursuant to its mandate under Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

“We are glad that health agencies are now initiating their own streamlining programs and ensuring compliances to the law,” the ARTA chief said.

“This makes us more excited in building on the reforms that we have started. This is ultimately to support the government’s effort, through the leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., to attain health resilience and economic recovery after the pandemic,” he further stated.

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ARTA lauds DILG on EODB initiatives; eyes more reforms on telco, construction, biz permitting anew

23 November 2022 – The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) is lauding the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) drive for localities to fully comply with Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery of Act, and utilize digitalization for local economic recovery.

“Sa ating mga kasama sa local government units (LGUs), mga mayors, now is the time to maximize the emerging technology solutions to enable local government to digitally transform their services to cope up with the tow of bureaucratic efficiency,” DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos urged local chiefs during his keynote speech in the agency’s recently held forum on ease of doing business.

LGUs are among the government institutions that ARTA monitors for mandatory compliance with the Ease of Doing Business Law.

“Digital transformation will facilitate: one, streamlining of processes; two, efficiency; and number three, improving productivity and quality of service”, the DILG secretary added.

The DILG also sought collaboration with ARTA to further improve the Business Processing and Licensing System (BPLS) and streamline the permitting and licensing processes in the construction and telco sectors in the localities.

ARTA, together with the DILG and key government agencies, issued several Joint Memorandum Circulars (JMCs), including the guidelines for the shared telco towers, which significantly reduced delays and streamlined the processes to secure permits, licenses, and authorizations of Passive Telecommunication Tower Infastructure (PTTIs), whether shared or exclusive.

This has been credited by DILG and the private sector to have accelerated the rollout of telecommunications infrastructure and service projects.

Other issuances also standardized the documentary requirements, steps, and processing time related to business registration and construction-related permits, leading to increased revenues for LGUs.

For ARTA’s part, Secretary Ernesto Perez shared the agency’ initiatives, including those that are currently in the pipeline as President Ferdinand R. Marcos’, Jr. directed the government to hasten bureaucratic efficiency.

“We, at ARTA, have been laying the groundwork for digitalization through capacity building, helping LGUs and national government agencies streamline processes and re-engineer operations. We will support DILG in its endeavors and strengthen our collaboration through the very capable leadership of Sec. Abalos,” ARTA Sec. Ernesto Perez said.

Likewise, Marinduque representative, Cong. Dakila Cua, who is concurrently the chairman of the Union Authorities in the Philippines, signified its support for forthcoming dialogues and programs.

Key government agencies, such as Department of Information and Communications Technology, Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, and e-commerce providers from the private sector also participated in the event.

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BREAKING: SP Zubiri, ARTA, Ombudsman agree on mandates; vows strengthened collaboration under PBBM admin

16 November 2022 – In a highly anticipated meeting, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), the Office of the Ombudsman, and Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri sat down to discuss the harmonization of the mandates of two agencies.

The Senate President gave a statement of support to ARTA and invited the agencies for a dialogue in the plenary budget deliberations last week. The meeting was conducted in his office.

In his first day as chief of ARTA, Secretary Ernesto V. Perez discussed with Ombudsman Samuel Martires possible areas of collaboration, in particular, pushing for bureacratic efficiency.

Bureacratic efficiency is one of the identified priorites of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr., under his 8-point socieconomic agenda. It aims to streamline government processes and its services and increase global competitiveness.

During the meeting, Ombudsman Martires, who is a retired Supreme Court justice, shared his experiences in public service and his office’s reforms and ways forward.

For his part, Secretary Perez talked about ARTA’s programs and initiatives including those he had started as its Deputy Director General for Operations.

Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri then expressed his full support for both offices and encouraged both leaders for closer collaboration for a more effective delivery of government services.

“We value the wisdom of Senate President Zubiri because, as the father of ARTA, he knows the intention of the Ease of Doing Business Law. We are also grateful for Ombudsman Martires’ support and willingness to work with ARTA”, the ARTA chief stated.

Senate President Zubiri was the primary sponsor of the Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 which created the ARTA.

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