Board of Investments calls for passage of law making ‘green lane’ scheme more permanent

THE EXECUTIVE ORDER that established the “green lane” scheme for expediting approvals of strategic projects needs to be turned into a law to assure investors, the Board of Investments (BoI) said.

At a budget briefing on Tuesday, Trade Undersecretary and BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said getting green lane legislation passed is among the priorities of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

“The first step that we are undertaking now is to legislate green lanes para magkaroon ng ipin (for it to have teeth),” Mr. Rodolfo said.

“Right now, the mandate flows from Executive Order (EO) No. 18, which was issued by the President. It will be better if we put it into law,” he added.

In February 2023, the government established via EO 18 the “green lane” system at all government offices, expediting approvals and permits for strategic investments.

According to Mr. Rodolfo, the BoI had endorsed P4.1 trillion worth of investments to the One Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments (OSACSI) as of Sept. 23. The investments are to fund 126 projects, mostly in the renewable energy (RE) industry.

Investments in RE projects increased after the government allowed full foreign ownership in the sector. Previously the cap was 40%.

BoI Investment Assistance Service and OSACSI Director Ernesto C. delos Reyes, Jr. said that making EO 18 into a law would institutionalize green lanes, leaving them immune to changes with the turnover of administrations.

“This will further streamline processes as the bill would also cover simultaneous processing,” he said.

He added such legislation will set a budget to pay for dedicated staff.

Mr. Rodolfo said a green lane law will attract more strategic investment in “the kind of projects where the government is more strict, like RE and mining.”

On May 2023, Rep. Jose Manuel F. Alba filed House Bill 8039, calling for green-lane processing of permits for strategic investments. 

The House Committee on Trade and Industry is set to tackle the bill in November, according to Mr. Delos Reyes.

BUDGET
Meanwhile, the DTI said it is seeking an additional P347 million in funding to set up an e-commerce bureau.

Trade Undersecretary Mary Jean T. Pacheco said the e-commerce bureau is a requirement of the Internet Transactions Act.

“Section 7 of the Republic Act 11967 (calls for) the creation of an e-commerce bureau that will ensure the implementation of the law,” she said.

“It will regulate all internet transactions in cooperation with other agencies of government,” she added.

She said that the additional funding will go mainly to personal services and maintenance and other operating expenses.

“We requested a plantilla of 174,” she said, noting that the staffing is needed in part to handle consumer complaints.

For 2025, the DTI is requesting a budget of P10.6 billion, P2 billion of which will go to government corporations attached to the DTI.

“There will be an increase for our attached corporations but a slight decrease for the Office of the Secretary and its attached agencies,” Assistant Secretary Kristian R. Ablan said.

“In total, the DTI Office of the Secretary is requesting P6.4 billion, while its attached agencies are requesting P1.9 billion,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile