13 June 2016- Seven government agencies are set to revoke or repeal respective rules and regulations that are deemed burdensome and irrelevant in a bid to eliminate red tape  that seriously  impacts the competitiveness of the economy.

The National Competitiveness  Council  (NCC) with an initial seven participating agencies , namely : Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), Finance (DOF), Energy (DOE), Budget and Management (DBM),  Tourism (DOT) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) are launching Project Repeal to signify their commitment to reduce regulatory cost by repealing  or amending unnecessary, costly, and out-dated rules in their respective agencies.

During the 1^st Repeal Day, 3,959 issuances shall undergo repeal or amendment, mainly composed of Department Administrative Orders (DAO), Joint Administrative Orders (JAO), Memorandum Orders (MO), and Circulars.  Of this number, 1,900 are subject for repeal,  while 2,032  previously repealed rules are subject for deletion/delisting from official websites and rosters of regulations and laws, 22 similar issuances are subject for consolidation into one legal document, and  5 are for amendment or deletion of certain provisions .

This is part of an initial 17,388 laws and issuances gathered for review by the Project Repeal Technical Working Committee from different government agencies.  Some of the rules submitted to the committee date back to the Commonwealth and Martial Law periods. NCC expects the list to expand as the other agencies and the public have continued to submit proposals.

Project Repeal was inspired by reform initiatives of other countries like United Kingdom (Red Tape Challenge), Australia (Cutting Red Tape Initiative),South Korea (Regulatory Guillotine) and Vietnam (Project 30). Fourteen other countries have also such similar undertakings

Prior to the creation of Project Repeal,  four government agencies started their own anti-red tape measures. For instance, DTI revoked 133 DAO and JAOs last year  to streamline the issuances that affect its frontline operations. DOF, on the other hand, ordered the review of all policies including those of its attached agencies (SEC, BOC, BIR) for rationalization. The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP)  have their own  regulatory improvement programs.

NCC envisions Project Repeal to reduce the cost of compliance for businesses as well as generate savings for the citizens. This could be made possible through a whole-of-a-government approach of instituting a system for repealing laws and allowing public participation in the repeal process.

For more info, email the Project Repeal Team at project [dot] repeal [at] competitive [dot] org [dot] ph