WITH government reforms to simplify procedures, the country hopes to improve its ranking after last year’s fall in an annual ease of doing business list by the World Bank (WB), officials yesterday said.

“We [the Philippines] deserve at least plus 20 to 25 improvement from last year’s rank,” National Competitiveness co-Chairman Guillermo M. Luz said during yesterday’s Ease of Doing Business press conference in Makati.

Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo shared this sentiment and said: “I am confident that we will be in the 60s [range] by 2016 given all these reforms.”

The Doing Business report released by the WB and International Finance Corp. last year said that the Philippines slid to 138th out of 185 economies from the previous year’s 136th out of 183 as the country posted lower scores in seven of ten indicators monitored.

Mr. Luz, however, said reforms have already been implemented in the areas where the country registered low scores.

He said, for example, that the process of starting a business has been reduced to 11 steps and 11 days from 16 steps and 36 days.

Dealing with construction permits has also been cut down to 17 steps and 61 days from the previous 29 steps and 84 days.

Getting electricity for a business has likewise become easier, from five steps and 50 days to four steps and 36 days. It will also now take a business 23 days to register a property from the previous 39 days.

Mr. Luz hopes that with all these reforms, the Philippines will advance in this year’s Doing Business report.

Asked how the standoff in Zamboanga between government forces and rebels will affect the country’s bid for a higher spot, Mr. Luz said: “The conflict in Zamboanga City is very recent. Data gathering for this year’s report was done from June 2012 to June 2013.”

“What is important is how that situation is going to be handled. The government should show that the law is being enforced. If we look at overall perspective, it is just a glitch. It doesn’t affect country stability as a whole. The country continues to be stable and even in Zamboanga City businesses are starting again,” he added.

Similarly, Mr. Domingo described the situation as a temporary setback.

“The Zamboanga case is just a hiccup. Once the situation starts to stabilize in 2-3 months, it will basically be forgotten. I will not deny that there may be negative effects, but they will just be temporary.”

Members of a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) identified with Nur Misuari have clashed with authorities since Sept. 9 while holding scores of civilians as hostages.

A statement from city hall’s hostage processing team, however, said that at least 145 hostages have been freed as of Sept. 17. Estimates placed the number of civilian hostages in the early days of the conflict at 180.