N Monday, July 26, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver his final State of the Nation Address. Ahead of this, I would like to take this time to extend our appreciation to our once-in-a-generation leader and the driver of the train of reform.

It was President Duterte who pushed the government to simplify and make its services client-friendly. We have repeatedly seen his dedication to improving the Philippines’ economic situation and making the people’s lives easier. His passion and political will in implementing reforms for the ease of doing business has always been one of the Anti-Red Tape Authority’s (ARTA) sources of strength in carrying out our mandate.

His administration pushed for the approval of Republic Act 11032 or the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, amending RA 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 200W.” This law also led to the creation of ARTA, an attached agency of the Office of the President that is tasked to oversee a national policy on anti-red tape and ease of doing business. The Philippines is one of the few countries, if not the only one, that has a government agency focused on eradicating those that hamper the smooth flow of business by mixing the streamlining functions and investigative powers that lead to filing of cases.

RA 11032 also created the Ease of Doing Business and Anti-Red Tape Advisory Council, the authority’s policy and advisory body that aims to craft policies and advisories to continuously enhance and improve the country’s competitiveness and ease of doing business.

When the President called me to serve as the first director general of this agency, I immediately said yes because I truly believe in what he wanted to achieve during his administration. His vision was something that I could really pour my energy and support into.

Within three years, the ARTA has issued at least 40 issuances, the most recent of which included the joint memorandum circular (JMC) for the establishment of a green lane for securing permits, licenses and authorizations for the establishment and operation of a bulk, import, fill and finish local Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing facility. Another JMC signed by the authority created an Inter-Agency Task Force on the streamlining of processes for the benefit claims of uniformed personnel. We also recently signed the revised and expanded JMC for the streamlined guidelines for the issuance of permits, licenses and certificates for the construction of shared passive telecommunications tower infrastructure, which will further improve our country’s internet connectivity. These were all done in response to the President’s directives.

We have also been intensifying our efforts against fixers looming in government offices. In total, we were able to apprehend 16 fixers in two months. The operations were immediately followed by on-site inspections of the agencies and offices concerned and a showcause order being issued against the head of the agency or office to which the permits or licenses being fixed pertained. This is all part of the ARTA’s “snake grab” approach that we are now instituting as our official anti-fixer and anti-red tape strategy.

We also laud the President for approving RA 1151W, which authorizes him to expedite the processing and issuance of national and local permits, licenses and certifications in times of national emergency. He has also issued Administrative Order 23, which orders the elimination of overregulation to promote efficiency of government processes, and AO 32, which mandates the expedited review and approval process of infrastructure flagship projects on water security. The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Streamlining of Government Processes was also created. All these initiatives augment the ARTA in its fight to cut down red tape.

Now that we are in the homestretch of this administration, it is clear that President Duterte’s fight against red tape will be one of his lasting legacies to the country. We credit him for all of ARTA’s gains because he was the one who established this pioneering effort.

As the first director general of this agency, one of my goals is to create momentum for the people who will follow us. I believe that the ARTA has already made significant contributions to improve the country’s economic situation. But as I have always said, there is more work that needs to be done. We still have about a year to eliminate red tape and corruption and continue our streamlining efforts to make the public’s lives more comfortable.

With this, we vow to continue intensifying our anti-fixing campaign using our snake grab approach and collaborate with other government agencies to stamp out red tape and government inefficiency once and for all. We also pledge to continue helping government agencies streamline, and eventually automate, their processes to deliver better services that Filipinos deserve.