Bicam okays bill for business-friendly PH
A bill that seeks to revise the Corporation Code to strengthen and simplify corporate governance standards was approved by the bicameral conference committee on Monday.
The reconciled House and Senate versions of the measure was approved by the committee amid the latest Ease of Doing Business Report of the World Bank which showed that the overall ranking of the Philippines fell to the 124th place, out of 190 economies, from its previous place at 113th.
READ: PH ease of doing business rank falls to 124th
“We are proud to lead the chamber in passing this landmark legislation that will remove the barriers hindering the entry of both small and large enterprises into the market,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, principal sponsor and author of Senate Bill No. 1280, said in a statement.
Drilon’s bill seeks to amend the decades-old Corporation Code of the Philippines.
“One of our difficulties today is our laws have not been updated. As a result, in terms of our ranking in the ease of doing business we are lagging behind, especially in the areas of starting a business where the country was ranked 166th,” Drilon said.
The senator noted that opening a business in the country under the old law is “too difficult.”
This is due to numerous and stringent incorporation and regulatory requirements, which discourage investors and Filipino entrepreneurs to enter the local market, Drilon noted.
“Suffice it to say, then, that the enactment of this measure and its immediate signing into law by the President is in order, so that we can change the atmosphere of conducting business in the country and make our economy more competitive,” he said.
The new corporation code, according to Drilon, will improve ease of doing business in the country by allowing a one-person corporation, removing the minimum capital requirement and providing for perpetual existence of corporation.
Thus, local business owners and investors could already stop the practice of naming their entire household as incorporators simply to comply with the stringent requirement of the law.
Practices that were not recognized under the old law will be introduced under the new code, Drilon noted.
Provisions under the new code seek to remove the minimum number of incorporators, permit the electronic filing of reportorial requirements and attendance in meetings via remote communication or in absentia, among others.
Moreover, the amended corporation code will strengthen corporate governance standards and provide protection to minority stockholders by requiring, among others, corporations vested with public interest to have independent directors.
Drilon said he was confident that with the enactment of the measure, the country would be able to catch up with its neighboring countries. /cbb
