THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) hopes that the bill mandating its elevation to the Cabinet level would be certified as a priority measure by President Marcos, underscoring that once enacted, it would enable the agency to expand penalties and liabilities and grant the agency the power to arrest erring government personnel, among others.
In an interview on the sidelines of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Philippines and the United Kingdom (UK) on Tuesday held in Makati City, Arta Director General Ernesto V. Perez said the agency has already submitted to the Office of the President the bill reorganizing Arta into the ‘Department of Anti-Red Tape’ or DART.
‘Nag-submit na kami ng proposal this week tapos we also submitted to the Office of the President sa Ledac [Lagislatirve-Executive Advisory Council], hopefully this can be considered a priority bill.hopefully this can be passed also sa House of Representatives. May nakuha kaming support from the Congress,’ Perez said.
Among the proposed amendments to Republic Act 11032 also known as the Ease of Doing Business Law are: Elevating Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta) into a Department; Expanding the Powers and Functions of the Department; Authority to Arrest, Expanding Violations and Persons Liable; Criminal Liability for Private Individual Involved in Fixing, among others.
On top of the list of proposed amendments is for ARTA to be reorganized into the Department of Anti-Red Tape (DART) which ‘will now serve as the lead agency for streamlining government services and reducing bureaucratic red tape.’
According to the proposed amendments, to strengthen accountability, Arta’s scope of violations and persons liable should be expanded to include the following: failure to set up, create, and publish a Citizen’s Charter; Failure to establish electronic business one-stop shops; and failure to comply with the Automatic Approval mechanism.
Under the bill, ARTA will also have the authority to arrest.
‘Fixing activities may appear administrative or procedural on the surface, but they pose deep and often irreversible harm to public safety, public order, and the environment,’ Arta noted.
‘When a person obtains a driver’s license without undergoing mandatory training and assessment, they are unlawfully granted the authority to operate a motor vehicle, despite lacking the skill and judgment to ensure safety on the road,’ the country’s anti-red tape watchdog noted.