DTI halves number of administrative orders

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has further cut red tape by trimming the number of active issuances in the agency.

The DTI said yesterday it made an inventory of all its official issuances such as department administrative orders (DAOs), implementing rules and regulations (IRRs), as well as orders and circulars to eliminate redundancies and simplify procedures.

After a review of all business- and consumer-related policies and procedures, the agency said it decided to slash the number of active DAOs to 124 from the previous 257.

DAOs are rules, regulations or guidelines prescribed by the DTI Secretary covering the implementation of laws, executive orders, and agreements that fall within the scope of the services rendered by the department’s various offices and attached agencies.

“We have revoked obsolete and non-responsive department orders and expunged them from our working files. The streamlining aims to provide clearer guidance to our stakeholders and make it easier for them to comply with requirements,” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said.

According to the DTI, the streamlining effort is part of the department’s goal to progressively make doing business in the country easier.

“We will talk to other agencies about this effort and hope that our experience will encourage them to undertake similar actions,” Domingo said.

The DTI said the remaining DAOs, IRRs, orders and circulars have been put together in a compendium to help ensure the swift and efficient delivery of its services.

The compendium will be published online and may soon be accessed by the public on the agency’s website, the DTI said.

“Consumers, businessmen and the general public will now have at their fingertips the information they need to start up, engage in, and grow their businesses,” Domingo said.