Twenty-five Philippine departments and agencies have submitted more than 1,000 issuances for possible revision, merger, or repeal as part of a campaign to cut red tape and remove redundant, outdated, and cumbersome regulations and orders in government offices.
The agencies join the roster of government bodies participating in the National Competitiveness Council’s (NCC) Project Repeal program, an initiative to simplify administrative procedures and lessen cost of compliance for businesses and individuals by removing irrelevant or unnecessary issuances dating back from the Commonwealth and Martial Law eras.
NCC private sector co-chairman Guillermo Luz said Project Repeal targets “reduced compliance for people in businesses and savings for the economy.”
The idea for the project came from the conduct of similar projects in countries such as Australia, United Kingdom, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Agencies that went through the repeal, amendment, consolidation, and delisting process for their issuances during the Second Repeal Day on December 8 included the departments of trade and industry, agriculture, energy, transportation, interior and local government, and information and communication technology.
Also taking part were the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Animal Industry, Civil Aeronautics Board, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Commission on Audit, Dangerous Drugs Board, Games and Amusement Board, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Manila International Airport, National Food Authority, National Meat Inspection Service, Office of Transport Cooperatives, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Philippine National Police, Philippine Ports Authority, Sugar Regulatory Administration, and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
A total of 1,062 issuances—mostly department orders, memorandum circulars, and office orders—were covered during the second Repeal Day. Of these, 10 are up for repeal, 138 for amendment, 18 consolidation and merger, and 896 delisting.
Amendment means the issuances will undergo addition, deletion, or changing of certain provisions of a rule or regulation. Consolidation is combining several similar or related circulars into a single order. Delisting, meanwhile, is the removal of repealed rules that remain listed on government websites or rosters. Repeal calls for the full elimination of a rule or issuance deemed no longer necessary.
The first Repeal Day held last June went through 3,959 issuances from the Department of Finance, Senate, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Tourism, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Energy, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Securities and Exchange Commission.
As of November 28, a total of 33,902 issuances have been submitted by more than 70 agencies to the Project Repeal technical working group for review and possible repeal. Those not included in the first two Repeal Days are currently undergoing continuous review, to be scheduled for possible repeal, amendment, consolidation, or delisting on subsequent Repeal Days to be held twice a year.
Luz said NCC has received a technical assistance grant from the British Embassy through the Asia Pacific Bilateral Programme Fund in support of Project Repeal. The assistance will be used to develop, pilot-test, and roll out a standard cost model for Project Repeal that seeks to systematically determine the savings from reduced cost of compliance for businesses from streamlining rules and regulations.
Luz said Project Repeal also benefits individuals through savings in cost when compliance to rules and regulations is made simpler and easier.
He added that NCC is also working with the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship to draft the ease of doing business bill, sponsored by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, that strives to institutionalize the repeal project.
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