COSTS OF DOING BUSINESSS

COSTS OF DOING BUSINESSS

Dear Mr. President: Thank you for your efforts to make “ease of doing business” possible, but could you please also look at the other angle of what we could call the “costs of doing business”? It appears however that both are two sides of the same coin, meaning that they are closely related to each other. It seems possible that the cause of that is corruption at the local government level, made possible by local officials that add on too many requirements for local business permits. The more requirements are added, the more costs are imposed upon startup businesses, and because of that, there is lesser “ease”, and there are more “costs”.

Perhaps it is not reported in the news, but the rumor mill is full of stories about some corrupt people who supposedly harass new business applicants or small business owners, reportedly representing the BIR, the PNP, the BFP, and the DOH, among others. That does not include LGU units such as the local sanitation office and even the garbage collectors. Because of that, it becomes more difficult for startups to open their new businesses, and they must spend a lot of money before they could get a business permit.

I also would like to thank you, Mr. President, for spearheading the campaign towards the automation of both the National Government Agencies (NGAs) and the Local Government Units (LGUs). I say that, because I believe that automation is the solution to corruption. I say that, because the more automation there is, the less discretion there is. As everyone knows, discretion is one cause of corruption. As the saying goes, “do not tempt the mortals”. In line with that, I also say that the more automation is in place, the lesser temptation there is.

I do understand, Mr. President that local officials do not have jurisdiction over NGA officials who are assigned to the LGU levels. However, I believe Sir that with the proper instructions from you, these NGA officials and the LGU officials could work together in joint committees or task forces to realize the two goals of “ease of doing business” and lesser “costs of doing business”. Would it be possible Sir, for you to issue an executive order to that effect?

In addition to the mobile apps that were launched by the DICT to support the goal of “ease of doing business”, there are also several apps that were developed by private companies that LGUs could also use. These apps are being offered for free by the private companies. As usual, they generate their incomes and recover their costs from advertising, training, logistics and payment services. The good news Mr. President is that both the NGAs and the LGUs could now automate their services without spending so much money.

Perhaps it is just a difference in culture, but in many other countries, their governments would go out of their way to make it easy for anyone to start a new business. Some countries even make it possible to get a business permit in one day, without any problems. Here in our country Sir, the opposite seems to be happening, because those who want to start a business here are seemingly required to go through an obstacle course. Can you do something about that Sir? IKE SENERES/10-10-2024

 

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