The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is pushing for automated government frontline services through mobile applications and the use of electronic payment scheme to enhance the ease of doing business in the country.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, chair of Inter-agency Ease of Doing Business Task Force, said that the ultimate goal of all the reforms is to make all frontline services online literally at your fingertips, providing a convenient and efficient means for public to transact with the government.
Lopez cited the Quezon City (QC) government’s Online Business Registration, where applicants can file for business permits online. This allows businesses to easily register their firms in the comforts of their home/businesses.
During the joint visit of the DTI, DILG and NCC, the QC government reported on the ePayment facility for business taxes and real property taxes. Payment of these charges can be made thru Landbank, Bancnet, or GCash. These reforms significantly improved doing business in Quezon City.
“As we continue to cut red tape and streamline procedures, we are now moving towards automation of government transactions. In the age of smartphones, we intend to harness its potential to ease of doing business. With the support of DICT, we are looking at developing a fully electronic registration process using smartphone apps.” Lopez said
Secretary Lopez also stated that with the enactment of the proposed Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act, nationwide automation will soon become a reality. The proposed law mandates a central business portal that will link the systems of national government agencies and local government units, as well as the establishment of a Philippine Business Registry databank. This portal will serve as a central system to receive applications and capture application data involving business-related transactions.
“We must make doing business easier. A complicated business registration process is a huge turn off particularly to young entrepreneurs or millennials who would want to start their business. Our current business registration practices are not aligned with the preferences of this demographic who are totally dependent on their mobile devices,” Lopez said
