THE LAPSUS Calami column of Oct. 28 resonated with us. It described the ease of obtaining a firearms license wherein the application and payment is carried out online. Does this refer to a first-time application or only to license renewals? I mention this because the first-time application, of necessity, should be involved with more detail than a renewal.
Should be.
Unfortunately, some years ago the Philippine National Police (PNP) made the system more complex so that renewals were treated in the same way as a first-time application. Not all license holders complied with this irksome change. Hitherto license renewals could be obtained from our friendly and efficient retail emporium, Negros Sports Exchange (a.k.a. Guns and Ammo). But not later on.
License holders allowed their license to lapse with a consequential increase in what PNP calls “loose” firearms. An unsatisfactory state of affairs.
Last July, two PNP officers came to my home to enquire about license renewal. I did not want to admit that we possessed what had become an unlicensed firearm.
Referring to license renewal, one officer asked, with exquisite courtesy: “Is it in the process?” Grasping the lifeline kindly offered by the officer, I replied: “Opo. It’s in the process.” This encouraged us to renew the license which we had allowed to become redundant.
We did not know about the online renewal possibility until I read the Lapsus Calami piece.
The term “command responsibility” is often used to criticize senior officers when there is low-level malpractice. The corollary is, of course, that we should praise PNP Chief Oscar Albayade for the innovative system implemented by Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) Chief Valeriano T. De Leon.
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The implementation of online systems is an important component in the overall ease of doing business. The World Bank produces an annual report on this topic. The most recent report rates the Philippines as 124th out of 190 countries. This is a drop from last year’s 113th place. The Philippines has obtained a higher mark (57.68 this year compared to last year’s 56.32), but other countries have improved more rapidly.
The overall ease of doing business score is based on 10 aspects: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.
The weakest areas for the Philippines were getting credit (184th), starting a business (166th), and enforcing contracts (151st). As far as obtaining credit is concerned, does this mean that the dialogue between businesses and financial institutions should be improved?
This is a two-way street.
There is some correlation between the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business and Transparency International’s Corruption League Table.
The top three countries in both cases are New Zealand, Singapore, Denmark. Others in the World Bank top ten are Hong Kong, China, Korea, Georgia, United States, United Kingdom, and Macedonia.
Georgia?!
The birthplace of Josef Stalin, it must have come a long way since the demise of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
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As one would expect, the private sector is successful at implementing efficient online systems. What the media choose to call “millennials” – those born between 1981 and 1996 – are especially quick to take advantage. Airlines, particularly Cebu Pacific, have excellent on-line ticketing and check-in systems. These have facilitated a very rapid increase in domestic air travel.
The financial sector has also done well although spectacular failures have marred success and has caused this septuagenarian to be unrelaxed about taking full advantage of the possibilities.
For example, banks did not comply sufficiently promptly with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) “instructions” to implement securer ATM systems.
I hope banks will adhere to new regulations from BSP to report any cyberhacks within two hours of their discovery.
But will they?/PN
