The country’s improved ranking in the World Bank’s 2020 ease of doing business report shows that the Duterte administration’s drive for “good governance” is paying off, Malacañang said on Thursday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo welcomed World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report which showed that the Philippines jumped 29 spots to rank 95th out of 190 economies surveyed.

Panelo said true to his 2019 campaign promise, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed that there would be “no more waiting” and fulfilled it by cutting red tape and corruption in the bureaucracy.

“A responsive and efficient government is truly what our people deserve and the Duterte administration made sure that the results of its efforts would be tangible in this respect,” Panelo said in a statement.

The Palace official attributed this latest feat to the President’s signing of the Ease of Doing Business Act (Republic Act No. 11032) which requires government agencies to act on applications within three days for simple transactions, seven days for complex ones and 20 days for those which are classified as highly technical.

Panelo, meanwhile, encouraged the public to help the government to further improve this ranking by reporting acts of red tape or corruption within the government.

“We reiterate that the government cannot move forward alone. We therefore request the public not to enable or initiate corruption to skirt red tape in their transactions with the government, and instead ask them to report any form of irregularity or suspicious actions undertaken by government personnel to 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Hotline, the Presidential Complaint Center, the Anti-Red Tape Authority or to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission,” Panelo said.

Strong vote of confidence

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Martin Andanar said the improved rankings showed a “strong vote of confidence” toward the Duterte administration.

“The latest results of the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 report show a strong vote of confidence towards President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s no-nonsense approach in wiping out red tape and removing opportunities for corruption,” Andanar said in a statement.

Andanar attributed the improvement in the Philippines’ ranking from regulatory reforms such as the Ease of Doing Business Act signed by the President over a year ago.

He thanked government line agencies, state-owned corporations, and other branches of government for carrying out the President’s directive.

With more economic reform in place, the PCOO chief also expressed hope that the Philippines ranking would further improve in the coming years.

“We expect even better results in the coming years as the government remains committed to give the Filipino people an easier and more comfortable life, thanks to the President’s strong political will to undertake these landmark reforms,” Andanar said.

The Doing Business 2020 report also indicated that the Philippines is one of the top three high jumpers among the economies covered by the study.

It showed that the Philippines recorded the highest improvement, both in rank and Ease of Doing Business (EODB) score, among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member nations.

Duterte signed into law the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 to solve the perennial problem of bureaucracy on March 2018. (PNA)