ARTA brings ease-of-doing-business reform guidebook to Davao City

The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) presented the Philippine Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Reform Guidebook and the World Bank's Business Ready (B-Ready) report in Davao City on Thursday, Nov. 5, according to Mindanao Times. It was the first time the materials were brought to the regions.

ARTA Director IV Marbida L. Marbida called on local governments and agencies to simplify permits and make processing times predictable. She said regional offices, local government units and the private sector all have a critical role in regulatory reform.

"A globally competitive business environment relies heavily on predictable, transparent, and accessible public service delivery from the municipal level up to national agencies," Marbida said.

She advised local governments to remove duplicate requirements and unnecessary steps before moving processes online, warning that digitizing without streamlining would simply put red tape into a digital form.

According to Marbida, the B-Ready report, a competitiveness benchmark used by investors, found that Philippine regulations are well written but weakly implemented. She partly attributed this to a lack of personnel and overlooked provisions. The report also flagged overlapping rules among agencies and regulations found in more developed economies but missing in the Philippines.

The World Bank launched the B-Ready report on Oct. 3, 2024. ARTA's assessment of the country's performance in the report was one of the inputs for the reform guidebook, which ARTA developed with government agencies and private sector groups and launched on May 22, 2025. The guidebook sets out priority reforms and an implementation roadmap.

The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) stressed that national reforms must produce tangible local results. Speaking for chamber president Dr. Mirasol Tiu, executive vice president Xavier Eric Manalastas said bureaucratic hurdles carry hidden costs for business confidence and growth.

Manalastas proposed using information technology and artificial intelligence to move away from a complaint-driven system. Under the proposal, digital tools would alert agencies and applicants to approaching deadlines, and entrepreneurs could track permit applications across city departments in real time.

"Government and businesses are not opposing forces; we are partners in building a productive economy," Tiu said in her message.

ARTA expects the reforms to improve the country's standing in competitiveness indices, including the B-Ready report.