Presidential Anti-Red Tape Emergency Powers signed into law

By Dolly Yasa

 

President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law Republic Act 11517, or an act authorizing the President to expedite the processing and issuance of national and local permits, licenses and certifications in times of national emergency.

“This is such great news to start the year with,” said Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, sponsor and one of the principal authors of the law, in a press statement emailed to Daily Guardian here Tuesday.

“We’re in this strange time right now, where things are starting to look up with the vaccine and all, but we’re also still taking caution against this new strain of the virus from abroad. This law should help us efficiently navigate this strange time.”

Zubiri also said that “We’re still effectively in an emergency, and our government processes should really be streamlined, so our people can receive essential services in a timely manner—everything from medical necessities to telecommunications services, the government should be able to process quickly and efficiently.”

“This is a partner law to our EODB,” explained Zubiri, author of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act.

“If EODB mandates 3, 7, or 20 working days for processing depending on the application, this law should be able to whittle that down to an even shorter time, in response to the urgent demands in a national emergency.”

“I’m so glad that the President has signed this into law, and I’m really hopeful that this will be instrumental in advancing our COVID-19 recovery efforts.”