From 124th to 95th in rank, or a jump of 29 notches.
This is where the Philippines stands in the 2020 edition of World Bank’s yearly Doing Business Report.
Although this rank still puts the country among the bottom half of 190 economies around the world, the government’s economic managers are optimistic that with the reforms presently being undertaken, the ranking will improve in the coming years.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the target was to be included in the top 40 percent, or at least rank 76.
According to the report, the Philippines had improved in three areas: starting a business, dealing with construction permits and protecting minority investors.
The report is significant to foreign investors because it gives them an insight of, or what to expect from, the business environment of the countries they may be interested in putting their money.
No foreign investor worth his or her salt would invest in a country that makes opening a business, maintaining smooth operations and remitting profits an ordeal, or require greasing the palms of regulatory authorities.
Part of the credit for the country’s improved ranking may be given to the enactment of the Ease of Doing Business Act. Although it took some time before its implementing arm, the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta), was constituted, it appeared to be performing well on its assigned tasks.
For starters, the Arta took on the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), two government offices with the most number of direct transactions with the public, in response to numerous complaints about the slow pace of processing of applications filed.
The LTO was able to address the concerns raised by the Arta, while the LTFRB was still a work in progress with regard to its internal processing procedures.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also found itself in the crosshairs of the Arta for alleged inordinate delay in acting on the application for accreditation of an accounting firm. There has been no word yet on the result of the Arta’s investigation on that matter.
So far, so good. The government offices, other than the Arta, tasked with making it easier for businesses to operate in the country are living up to their mandate.
But whether or not this cooperative attitude would continue over the long haul is a big question mark. The specter of the Filipino trait of “ningas cogon” (or starting with a bang and then fizzling out) rearing its ugly head later cannot be discounted.
This trait has been observed in numerous government activities, such as campaigns against smoke belching, regulation of motorcycles and strict enforcement of business permits or licenses.
After a lot of hype or flurry of high profile photo ops to show to the public the government’s resolve on those issues, things went back to where they were before and the problems sought to be solved remained.
To add insult to injury, the government offices that engaged in those show-off activities touted them as outstanding accomplishments in their year-end reports.
It is a challenge to the national offices concerned to sustain their momentum in making it easy to do business in the country away from the glare of publicity.
The mission to make life easier for investors to do their business should be done for its own sake and not because it would make the government office look good in media.
It would be ideal for local government units (LGU) to be as involved as the national offices in reducing bureaucratic delay in the processing of business transactions with the public.
But first things first. Let the national offices set the example of delivering on the promise of ease of doing business and the LGUs will follow suit.
If that happens, getting the Philippines to the top 40 percent of the annual World Bank Report would be a walk in the park.