Ease of Doing Business

There is no doubt that the country needs to improve its business climate and attract foreign investments to be able to propel its economy. For instance, one important driver of economic growth is foreign direct investments, which is a “category of cross-border investment wherein an investor resident in one economy establishes a lasting interest in and a significant degree of influence over an enterprise resident in another economy.”

To attract FDIs, and also to encourage local business enterprises to expand their businesses here, there is, among others, the need to stage a healthy environment for them to flourish. When there is gridlock in government processes, when regulators change the rules in the middle of the game, and when the climate is not made conducive for commercial growth, there is no way the country will be able to attract businesses. Ensuring the ease and facility of doing business in our country (among many others) is, therefore, an imperative.

Truth be told, there is still a lot of work to be done in this regard. Fortunately, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) was created, which is clearly an answer to the call of the times. The private sector has been aching and wanting to have a more consistent, coordinated, efficient and expedient manner of government response and action to its various requests and requirements; and the creation of ARTA is an answered prayer.

For business entities which heavily depend and rely on prompt government approval and action to pursue its various goals and undertakings, the creation of an agency mandated to ensure the ease of dealing with the various government offices is absolutely a welcome development.

Red tape of 18th century England, the tape that was used to bind official documents, has long been a despised symbol of government inefficiency. Although the physical red cloth tape has long been disused, and government files are no longer bound by these tapes, the hated conditions and practices they represent continue, keeping the symbol alive.

Pursuant to its mandate, ARTA must constitute and maintain an army of public servants to combat inefficiency, and look into bureaucratic rules that pile up without rhyme or reason. It is hoped that, through ARTA’s intervention, the bureaucracy will move more like a well-oiled machine and perfect rotary wheel, and no longer be a quagmire of red tape.

But this is not an easy task. ARTA, therefore, needs the support of a vigilant citizenry, and civic organizations like the Rotary Club of Manila.