Atty. Julius Gregory Delgado
CONSTITUTING GREEN LANES FOR STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS
On 23 February 2023, President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos issued Executive Order No. 18, Series of 2023, entitled “Constituting Green Lanes for Strategic Investments”. Executive Order No. 18 covers all National Government Agencies (NGAs), its Regional and Provincial Offices, Government-Owned-and-Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), Government Instrumentalities and Local Government Units (LGUs) involving issuance of licenses and permits to so-called “Strategic Investments”.
Under Section 2 of Executive Order No. 18, “Strategic Investments” are those: 1) which are aligned with the Philippine Development Plan and other similar national development plans; 2) shall bring significant capital or investment to the country; 3) shall have consequential economic impact; 4) shall have positive impact on the environment; 5) shall contribution to the country’s balance of payments; 6) those which have complex technical processes and engineering design; and 6) and will bring about improvement in the country’s infrastructure capabilities.
Section 3 of Executive Order No. 18 directs the creation of a One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSAC-SI) by the Department of Trade and Industry-Board of Investments (DTI-BOI) within six (6) months. OSAC-SI will serve as the single point of entry of all projects qualified as Strategic Investments. The OSAC-SI shall address investor concerns and shall endorse these concerns to the concerned NGAs, LGUs, and/or quasi-judicial bodies for processing of permits and licenses, and monitoring and reporting of actions taken. The same section also directs DTI-BOI within three (3) months to produce and regularly update an investor manual or guidebook or its equivalent containing the list of government requirements for the establishment of Strategic Investments per sector, as well as the concerned NGAs, LGUs or quasi-judicial bodies of relevant permits and licenses.
Section 4 of Executive Order No. 18 directs the concerned NGAs, including their Regional and Provincial Offices when applicable, LGUs, and quasi-judicial bodies to establish or designate, whichever is applicable, a Green Lane within their offices charged of expediting and streamlining the processes and requirements for the issuance of permits and licenses for these Strategic Investments endorsed by OSAC-SI. It was further clarified that the said Green Lane shall be integrated and shall not be duplicative of the existing one-stop shops or one-stop action centers under the Ease of Doing Business Act and the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act. The same section directs the agencies to designate an account officer for the Green Lane, who is responsible in coordinating with the OSAC-SI, relevant government offices and agencies in streamlining and simplifying businesses permitting and licensing processes, and recommending modifications and amendments to existing procedures that are outdated, redundant and adds undue regulatory burden and cost to transacting public, in coordinating with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).
Section 5 of Executive Order No. 18 reminds NGAs and LGUs to comply with the period of processing permits and licenses under the Ease of Doing Business Act and their respective Citizen’s Charters. It was also stated that adding requirements other than those listed in their Citizen’s Charters shall be punished under the law. The same section also provides that the extension shall not be more than the original period. The most potent feature of Executive Order No. 18 is Section 6 thereof which provides that after the lapse of the original or extension period under Section 5 of Executive Order No. 18, the NGA or LGU concerned shall issue the permit or license. Otherwise, the DTI-BOI shall endorse the case to the ARTA. The ARTA, upon receipt of the endorsement, together with the presentation of the acknowledgment receipt and/or official receipt of the payment of the necessary license or permit fees, and other transaction costs, and upon due investigation and verification that the applicant has indeed fully submitted all necessary documents and paid all the required fees, shall issue a declaration of completeness and order the concerned office or agency to issue the appurtenant approval, extension and/or renewal of the license, clearance, permit, certification or authorization. Section 6 of Executive Order No. 18 finally provides that the same mechanism applies to issuance of a license or permit by quasi-judicial bodies.
If implemented fully, Executive Order No. 18 will surely bring into the country the necessary investments and big-ticket projects to propel our economy to greater heights especially that we are still trying to get back to our feet after the COVID-19 pandemic. The DTI-BOI’s OSAC-SI and the ARTA should exert all efforts to ensure that this Green Lanes for Strategic Investments will not just be another paper policy.