President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to continue expediting the integration of all applications and permitting processes for energy projects in the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS).
In his 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July, President Marcos ordered the DOE to fast-track the integration of all applications and permitting processes for energy projects in EVOSS.
“Well, you continue to work on the processing, the change in the processing… permitting process. So, we try to get as close as possible to the simultaneous processing,” the President said during a Palace sectoral meeting about updates on the streamlining of energy project applications.
“As we discussed earlier, we never get it in that straight line that you have. But at least we’ll push it as far as we can,” he said.
President Marcos wants the DOE to inform agencies in advance about its impending endorsement allowing said agencies to immediately start the permit processing ahead of the forthcoming recommendation.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the DOE could implement the President’s suggestion.
The long permitting process and the numerous permits and clearances required by government agencies have discouraged investors from doing business in the Philippines. This is one of the main issues the government wants to address regarding the application of energy projects.
The EVOSS was rolled out in July 2020 to accept online energy-related applications. As of Sept. 27, at least 56 out of 103 energy-related processes had been integrated into EVOSS.
The government targets the integration of all energy-related processes by June 2028.
However, the full operationalization of the EVOSS System primarily depends on the readiness of the agencies and entities to be incorporated or integrated into the system.
The DOE is conducting focus group discussions and consultations, orientations, briefings, and information education campaigns, and user testing and hands-on-training, to expedite the full operationalization of the EVOSS. It is also coordinating with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) on the issue. | PND
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