Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, along with high-ranking officials of four other government agencies, signed Wednesday a new and enhanced memorandum of agreement (MOA) aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the country by facilitating the early resolution of complaints and other concerns raised by investors.

The new Investment Promotions Unit (IPU) Network (Net) MOA inked this morning commits 36 government agencies to efficiently and swiftly resolve issues raised by investors to avoid delays in the processing of business registrations, permits and licenses, among other concerns, in line with the Duterte administration’s goal to cut red tape and make the Philippines more attractive to investors.

With the new MOA in place, the delivery of frontline government services, especially the processing of business transactions, will be monitored by the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) to ensure that any delays are addressed immediately in compliance with Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act.

Under RA 11032, simple business transactions should be processed within three days, complex processes within 7 (seven) days and highly technical ones within 20 days.

Signed at the Department of Finance (DOF) office in Manila, this new MOA states that IPU Net should act on investment issues and concerns within 72 hours from the receipt of the complaint or query, but not later than 15 days, as prescribed under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

It also aims to promote the use of the One Window Network (OWN) of the Bureau of Investments (BOI) and other online facilitation systems available in other government agencies in fast-tracking the submission of investment-related issues, concerns and queries.

OWN is a cloud-based web portal and mobile application that offers online facilitation of investors’ pre-investment and post investment queries and concerns.

The new IPU Net MOA also covers pre-investment and post-investment assistance and services to investors to support the retention and expansion of their projects.

Aside from Dominguez, the other signatories to the new IPU Net MOA were Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Caesar Dulay, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) executive director Niño Alvina and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Emilio Aquino.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez witnessed the signing of the IPU Net MOA, which was earlier signed by the heads of the other concerned government agencies.

BOI Investment Assistance Service director Bobby Fondevilla said the IPU Network has been processing queries and concerns, mostly from investors under the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

An IPU Network MOA was first signed on April 25, 2007 among the BOI and 26 other government agencies.

This 2007 MOA created the IPU Network and endorsed complaints and issues before the BOI raised by investors to the Investment Ombudsman or the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

With the new MOA, complainants can either go to the BOI, which will endorse them to the ARTA for appropriate action, or directly proceed to the ARTA.

The ARTA, in turn, will facilitate the investigation and recommend the filing of the complaint with either the Ombudsman or CSC.

A ceremonial signing of the new IPU Net MOA was held last July 10 at the BOI Office in Makati City. From the original 27 signatories, the new MOA now includes nine other government agencies.

“Due to several changes and technological advancements that have transpired in the economic and political structures of the country and technological advancement since the execution of the 2007 IPU Net MOA, there is a need to renew the commitment of the concerned government offices and agencies, and to include other offices and agencies in the said MOA, to immediately act on the issues and concerns of investors referred to them by the BOI and eventually issue timely resolution thereon,” the new MOA states.

The signatory-agencies to the new MOA are the DOF, BOI, BIR, BOC, BLGF, SEC, DTI, CSC, ARTA, Office of the Ombudsman, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP); Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Transportation (DOTr);

DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), DILG-Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), DILG-Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau (HFSRB), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), and the Public-Private Partnership Center.

The contents of the new and improved IPU Net MOA incorporated the feedback and inputs gathered by the BOI, which serves as the IPU Net Secretariat, during a consultative meeting held last May 24 among the participating government agencies.

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