Duterte creates office for adviser vs red tape

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday created the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Streamlining Government Service to Processes (OPASGP) to cut down red tape and boost ease of doing business. 

Duterte, in Executive Order 129 signed on Tuesday, said the law mandates the state to adopt simplified requirements and procedures that would "reduce red tape and ease of doing business and non-business transactions in government." 

With this goal, the OPASGP shall come up with recommendations to cut red tape in the executive branch and local governments, Duterte ordered.

The new office and the Anti-Red Tape Authority shall "undertake further review of government systems, especially inter-agency harmonization, "to promote a predictable business environment and reduce uncertainty in government transactions."

The two bodies must use "the best, most innovative and least burdensome means allowed by law for accomplishing regulatory objectives. 

Read Duterte's full directive to the OPASGP here. 

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In January, Duterte signed a law that gives him special powers to fast-track the issuance of permits, licenses and certifications in times of national emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ease of doing business and increasing competitiveness make up a pillar of the Duterte administration's socio-economic agenda, said the President.