President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the creation of a single operating system for all government transactions to improve bureaucratic efficiency and the ease of doing business in the Philippines.

Marcos gave his approval during the multi-sectoral meeting with different government agencies at Malacañan Palace on Tuesday.

With the President’s directive, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) are currently mapping the processes of different agencies in order to collate them in a single system.

Marcos said the system must also consider and address the differences between the national bureaucracy and various local government units (LGUs) for a more harmonized structure.

“Those are the things that we still work with. The questions we were trying to bring it down to that level, and the local governments are really part of that thing. You’ve seen how it can happen. That’s what we need to address,” Marcos said.

Stakeholder consultations involving all government agencies have been conducted to look at their processes and requirements with the aim of encouraging them to use a unified application form and linking them to the network that sets up a “one-stop-shop.”

Marcos also directed the DICT and ARTA to expand the usage and adoption of Business Permits and Licensing Systems (BPLS) by LGUs nationwide.

The officials present during the meeting, meanwhile, proposed the adoption of a data sharing mechanism so that documents submitted in one agency should no longer be required in another agency.

Among those who met with the President were Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary David Almirol Jr., ARTA Director General Ernesto Perez and Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio. (PNA)

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