The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) will present a proposed Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) aimed at streamlining and harmonizing critical regulatory reforms for the domestic shipbuilding and ship repair (SBSR) industry.
ARTA Secretary Ernesto V. Perez said ARTA and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) have completed consultations with the private sector, paving the way for the presentation of the draft JMC on September 8 and its final issuance sometime in October.
Among the key provisions of the proposed JMC are the elimination of duplicate requirements, streamlining of permit issuance, and the creation of a working group to develop a one-stop shop under MARINA.
MARINA will serve as the lead implementing agency, in coordination with the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and Department of Transportation (DOTr).
The initiative is part of the National Effort for the Harmonization of Efficient Measures of Inter-Related Agencies (NEHEMIA) Program, a flagship government effort aimed at reducing bureaucratic red tape across interconnected agencies.
During a workshop, ARTA presented findings from its recent regulatory scoping activities, which mapped the existing permitting, licensing, accreditation, registration, renewal, inspection, and incentive processes governing local shipyard operations.
To address these bottlenecks, MARINA approved the inclusion of the relevant permitting services in an upcoming Strategic Whole-of-Government (STRAT-WOG) Reengineering Workshop. ARTA will begin crafting comprehensive, end-to-end business process maps that will serve as the blueprint for the workshop, where officials will identify specific streamlining measures.
The collaboration resulted in several agreements aimed at achieving long-term structural reforms.
Foremost among these is the establishment of a dedicated Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Technical Working Group (TWG). MARINA will serve as chair, with ARTA as co-chair, supported by permanent focal persons to ensure direct and continuous coordination.
MARINA also committed to updating its Citizen’s Charter to reflect a newly streamlined eight-step shipyard registration and licensing process.
The agency further agreed to assess the feasibility of removing redundant requirements, particularly the shipyard affiliation and mayor’s permit requirements, from the registration process.
These efforts will lead to the crafting of the JMC, through which ARTA and MARINA will seek to institutionalize the harmonized regulatory reforms across the maritime sector.
