Presidential Anti-Red Tape Emergency Powers Signed into Law
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. “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.”
“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.”
