THE Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) has set a target of signing up 200 more local government units (LGUs) for the electronic Business One-Stop Shop (eBOSS) system this year.
“As of the moment, 112 LGUs are eBOSS compliant, and the target for 2025 is to have an additional 200 LGUs,” ARTA Deputy Director General Gerald G. Divinagracia said via Viber.
If realized, Mr. Divinagracia said that the year will end with over 300 eBOSS-compliant LGUs.
Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act requires LGUs to adopt eBOSS.
Asked about the locations of the 200, ARTA said they are largely in “the eight regions where we have people: Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, the Western Visayas, the Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Eastern Mindanao, and Western Mindanao,” he said.
The Philippines has over 1,600 LGUs.
He also noted that in the National Capital Region, three LGUs are still not eBOSS-compliant, including Makati City.
“In Makati, definitely, we are having a hard time. It is hard because they have their own system. The thing about Makati is that there’s a digital divide,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the SGV Tax Symposium last week.
“If you want to automate, everything will be online,” he said, but noted the need for “a good program that allows users to know how to use computers or the system, or maybe make the system more user-friendly.”
The Pasig LGU is also not yet eBOSS-compliant but is already implementing it.
“That is also in RA 11032. If you are not yet capable of full digitalization, you can have a BOSS,” he said. A BOSS system involves co-locating the business permit function with other agencies to ensure services follow the one-stop shop model.
However, he said that having a physical BOSS is inadequate, as demonstrated by the pandemic.
“I hope it will not happen again, but if there is another pandemic and we are locked down, then you can’t have a BOSS; you need an eBOSS,” he added.
He said that ARTA will target making the remaining Metro Manila eBOSS-compliant in the next two quarters. — Justine Irish D. Tabile