Thousands of burdensome gov’t rules under review

MANILA, Philippines -  Thousands of government rules and regulations considered “burdensome and unnecessary” are being reviewed by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) as part of efforts to simplify and harmonize business regulations, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

In his remarks during the 3rd ASEAN-OECD Good Regulatory Practice Network (GRPN) meeting in Iloilo City, he said 22, 599 rules and regulations from 32 government agencies have been submitted to the NCC for review, out of which, 3, 765 have already been acted on.

NCC’s Project Repeal aims to review, repeal or amend existing regulations that impose unnecessary burden on businesses.

“With Project Repeal, government agencies, organizations and individuals are called to submit specific laws or rules that people find burdensome and unnecessary. These are reviewed by a technical working group, and submitted back to agencies for proper action,” said Pernia.

“This is just one of several initiatives to further the GRPN agenda in the country,” he added.

Regulatory officials from ASEAN member states are convening in Iloilo City until March 16 to examine ways to simplify and harmonize business regulations in the region.

The 3rd GRPN brings together regulatory policy officials from ASEAN member states and development partners from countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The first GRPN meeting held in 2015 in Kuala Lumpu allowed governments to discuss how to advance good regulatory practice across ASEAN. There were various proposed future activities, which included the recommendation to implement regulatory impact analysis.

During the second meeting last year in Vientiane, Lao, leaders presented a proposal for a two-year project to investigate the linkages between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and global value chains in Southeast Asia. It brought particular focus on analyzing trade, investment and regulatory policies.

The present GRPN aims to foster business connectivity in the region by addressing regulatory barriers preventing ASEAN SMEs from integrating with global value chains.

Other than tackling the regulatory challenges faced by SMEs in the global value chain, the meeting will also have a workshop that will explore how government support from the UK can promote ASEAN initiatives to enhance the region’s regulatory environment.

It will focus on practical tools, case studies, and shared learning opportunities for delegates to learn more about the UK regulatory experience and how this can be applied in a local context.