Gov’t to expedite foreign donation processing

Soon, the processing of foreign donations will not take more than a week to finish as the government seeks to hasten the delivery of services to disaster-stricken areas.

The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) said it was working with various government agencies to cut by half the processing period to seven days for the issuance of the Duty-Exempt Importation (DEI) Certification, a requirement of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) before nongovernment organizations (NGOs) are able to provide aid and relief services in the country.

For areas under a state of calamity, the processing time can be shortened further to just three working days, ARTA officer-in-charge Ernesto V. Perez said.

Additionally, the number of documents needed for the certification will also be reduced from nine to just three.

“The government is working together to serve the people who are in dire need of speedy services. President [Marcos Jr.] has made it clear that Filipinos should not be made to wait especially in times of calamities,” Perez said.

The ARTA head said several government agencies were working together in crafting a memo that would harmonize end-to-end processing of foreign donations.

“Through the whole-of-government approach, the [joint memorandum circular] will make way for the establishment of a green lane which will facilitate the expedited processing of the DEI and release from the Bureau of Customs (BOC). This [is] to ensure that donors will not have to go to different government agencies anymore,” said Perez