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WHEREAS, per Article II of Republic Act (RA) No. 7844, otherwise known as the Export Development Act of 1994, the President of the Philippines shall approve the Philippine Export Development Plan, a three-year rolling plan that defines the country's annual and medium-term export thrusts, strategies, programs and projects, jointly implemented by the government, exporters and other sectors concerned;

WHEREAS, Memorandum Circular No. 91 (s. 2016) approved the PEDP 2015- 2017 and directed fourteen (14) government agencies to collectively work and review all relevant policies to facilitate exports and eliminate those that hamper its free flow;

WHEREAS, succeeding PEDPs shall be crafted for continuity, consistency of policies and innovative strategies to increase exports and jobs for Filipinos;

WHEREAS, it is necessary to review and implement specific rules and strategies on trade facilitation to support the export process, in order to streamline business procedures and reduce cost;

WHEREAS, to ensure efficient, responsive and well-coordinated strategies, it is critical to involve other agencies in the development of the export sector, particularly those that can provide support to information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, tourism, and manpower development and skills training;

Now therefore, the following government agencies and entities are hereby directed to collectively work, review, institute reforms, and implement all relevant policies in harmony with the PEDP and the Philippine Development Plan to boost export growth:

1. The Department of Trade and Industry shall be responsible for monitoring and implementing the strategies to attain external trade targets, particularly exports of goods and services; lead in export development and promotion through internationalization of small and mediurn-sized enterprises (SMEs); continue to promote competitiveness and ease of doing business in order to promote expansion of existing businesses; attract domestic and foreign direct investment; ensure market access; and intensify market intelligence;

2. The Department of Agriculture shall ensure the availability of supply of agricultural and fishery products and raw materials for manufacture and saie of export products; and provide assistance for compliance to international standards to ensure product quality and safety;

3. The Department of Energy shall formulate and implement policies and programs to ensure sustainable, stable, secure, sufficient supply, accessible and reasonably-priced energy:

4. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall assist the exporters of forest-based export products to comply with the requirements of international markets and facilitate issuance of necessary documentation for environmental compliance;

5. The Department of Health, through the Food and Drug Administration, shall facilitate the application and issuance of License to Operate and Certificate of Product Registration by streamlining end automating its systems and procedures;

6. The Department of Finance, through the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), shall fully implement the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA); automate, streamline and integrate the import and export processes; implement policies on tax reforms: and streamline BIR tax compliance processes; 

7. The Department of Information and Communications Technology shall provide support to the promotion of trade and investment opportunities, especially in the ICT and ICT-Enabled Services sectors; and push for the use of ICT to automate government regulatory processes and synchronize government systems with the aim of ensuring ease of doing

8, The Department of the Interior and Local Government shall ensure the streamlining of business permitting systems and other regulatory processes of local government unitsthat are related to ease of doing business; establish linkages and interoperability with other government agencies related to business/economic development; ensure the compliance of local government units (LGUs) in all related laws that affect exportation and ease of doing business through issuance of regulatory policies and guidelines; provide technical assistance to LGUs related to the ease of doing business such as investment promotion and public-private partnership and others; and ensure peace and order and public safety;

9. The Department of Public Works and Highways shall prioritize road connectivity through the Roads Leveraging Linkages for industry and Trade (ROLL IT) Program, the Tourism Road infrastructure Programs, and Construction/improvement of Access Roads leading to airports/seaports in coordination with the Department of Transportation, for the efficient delivery of products and services;

10. The Department of Transportation shall provide effective and efficient land, air, and maritime transportation systems to reduce time and cost in the delivery of goods and services;

11. The Department of Tourism shall increase the country's market share in international tourism by, among others, initiating policies that will encourage the development of competitive tourism facilities and services, thus contributing to the increase in services exports through the generation of foreign currency earnings;

12. The Department of Labor and Employment shall continuously organize tripartite industrial peace councils at the industry and regional levels, which shall forge voluntary codes of good practices focused, among others, on improving productivity of workers and enterprises and proposing sound labor policies that safeguard the interests of both labor and management sectors;

13. The Department of Science and Technology shall continuously provide innovative solutions; set the pace for science, technology and innovation activities towards global competitiveness, and adopt policies on research and development (R&D), technology transfer, technical training, testing and calibration services, and other related support activities towards increasing productivity and competitiveness of local enterprises as well as improving the quality of export products;

14. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) shall a) oversee policies on the prioritization and implementation of technical vocational education and training (TVET) with theaim of enhancing productivity and competitiveness; b) ensure quality in the implementation of the dual training system and in the assessment and certification of skilled workers and c) regularly consult with the concerned industries in order to keep abreast with their skills requirements and the latest competency standards;

15. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) shall continuously advocate for purposive investments that: a) steer career interest towards science, technology, engineering, agri-fisheries and mathematics which are the building blocks of the knowledge economy; b) foster a healthy and vibrant relationship between the academic community and industry, as well as small and medium scale businesses; c) accelerate local and global inter-university research collaborations; d) establish institutional scientific-technological niches and economic centers; and e) create an innovation ecosystem;

16. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas shall oversee monetary and foreign exchange policies; promote and maintain monetary stability and the convertibility of the peso pursuant to Section 3 of RA No. 7653; and provide banking and credit policies that will promote adequate access to credit and financing conducive to a balanced and sustainable growth of the economy;

17. The Department of Foreign Affairs shall advocate the Philippine Accession to the Customs Convention on the Admission Temporaire/ Temporary Admission (ATA) Carnet's temporary admission of goods; and continue efforts to enter into new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with other countries to boost exports; and

18. The National Economic and Development Authority shall promote the use of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and other related tools by regulatory agencies to improve the quality of new regulations in a way that will facilitate the free flow of goods and services in accordance with the PEDP; in particular, the NEDA Board infrastructure Committee (INFRACOM) shall pay close attention to the implementation of infrastructure strategies and interventions;

The EDC shall oversee the implementation of the PEDP and coordinate the formulation and implementation of policy reforms and promotion strategies. Further, the EDC shall ensure the biannual validation and updating of the PEDP pursuant to the provisions of RA No. 7844,

The foregoing agencies shall submit to the EDC and to the Office of the President, through the Executive Secretary, the inventory of relevant policies, programs and action plans within sixty (60) days upon the approval of succeeding PEDPs. The same shall also be submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for budget allocations to be taken from available appropriations in the annual General Appropriations Act of the concerned agencies, in order to efficiently implement the succeeding PEDPs through their respective programs, activities and projects.

All orders, issuances, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Memorandum Circular are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 6th day of October in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Seventeen.

   
 

By Authority the President:      (SGD.) SALVADOR C. MEDIALDEA   Executive Secretary