Mar seeks amendments to Local Government Code to simplify business regulations

MANILA, Philippines - Liberal Party (LP) presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Roxas II believes the Local Government Code should be amended to simplify the processes required to set up a business.

Roxas said the current law has given local government units (LGUs) vast powers that are hard to influence. He noted that under the present set-up, investors have to undergo some processes with the LGUs after registering with agencies under the national government.

“Amendments to the Local Government Code are needed so that there will only be one process and the regulations will be seamless,” Roxas told hosts of TV5 show “Go Negosyo” last Monday.

“We need changes in the law because the law has given wide-reaching powers to local government units,” he added.

The Local Government Code allows LGUs to implement ordinances that will regulate business operations within their jurisdictions. The law also permits them to impose charges and fees to support its projects and programs.

Some sectors, however, believe the set-up poses burden to businessmen and makes them vulnerable to extortion.

Roxas believes simplifying business processes is just a matter of common sense.

“We now have a software solution. In my view, all of these are just about data capture and the software will ensure that whether at the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) or LGU, all these data will be captured for the use of all agencies,” Roxas said.

“I believe that businessmen should be doing business and should not be queueing to get permits,” he added.

The Philippines dropped six notches in the latest World Bank Group’s Doing Business report, landing 103^rd out of 189 economies from 97^th previously.

The Philippines was fifth among Southeast Asian countries behind Singapore (1^st), Malaysia (18^th), Thailand (49^th), Brunei (84^th) and Vietnam (90^th).

Philippine officials, however, disputed the report, saying it contained “glaring flaws and inconsistencies.”

“The erratic nature of the report methodology gives a sense that rules keep changing in the middle of the game. We think, however, that this case is more like changing the rules of the game, when the game is already over,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a November 5 letter to the World Bank.