DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 27 July) – The Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) 11 will propose to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to cut down by half the number of requirements to export and give its regional offices the power to approve permits and documents.
This developed after President Rodrigo R. Duterte vowed to lessen to a maximum of three days the approval time for permits and documents in government offices in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.
Philexport 11 executive director Edwin Sotto told “Wednesdays at Habi at Kape” at the Abreeza Mall that the exporters are required to submit 10 requirements, which will take Customs and Philexport-Manila about one week to one month to approve the export applications.
He said they are in talks with the BOC if the agency can allow cutting down the number of
On the capacity of the exporters to comply with the requirements, Sotto said that some of them would be able to provide the requirements for more than a week.
He said that they are reviewing the processes at Philexport, which is deputized by Customs to “process the application and send it to Manila” in order to minimize the documentary requirements that the exporters have to submit to release the certificates at the shortest time possible within two to three days.
“We will review the processing of certificates. We want to shorten that to two to three days. If we can only release the certificates on the same day of the processing, but this needs a lot of streamlining,” Sotto said.
He added that one of the solutions that they want BOC and Philexport in Manila to consider is to regionalize the approval of certificates.
“In that way, we can better assist the exports by helping the exporters right away,” he said.
Sotto surmised that it’s taking the BOC and Philexport in Manila to release the certificates, as they convene once a month and have to go through all applications from all exporters in the country.
“One of the reforms we can think of is to request BOC and Philexport Manila to allow the regional office to approve it so we can cut on the processing time, let’s say, three days, or a maximum of one week, but we are aiming on three-day standard of the government,” he said.
Three-day processing
During his SONA, Duterte boasted his exhibit A’s efficiency in the issuance of permits.
“Processing time in issuing permits and licenses shall be reduced to the barest minimum. In my city, it is always three days for local governments. That will bind the Office of the President down to the last barangay elect. Three days. Three days. Local government. Business permit, clearances, no follow-ups,” Duterte said.
He said that government offices must have a logbook to indicate the time and date that the documents from an applicants have been received and make an estimate as to how long the requested document will be released.
He said he would put up an 8888 hotline dedicated for reports on corruption.
“Kapag may marinig ako sa Executive Department, even a whisper, even a whisper, hiwalay-hiwalay na tayo. Marami diyan, diyan sa gallery marami diyan walang trabaho, nag-aapply hanggang ngayon,” he said.
(Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
