EASING BUSINESS PROCESSES. Officials of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) lead a meeting with Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government, Quezon City Health Department, and the National Association of Business Permits and Licensing Office on Friday (Feb. 7, 2020). The groups discussed that the LGU will also be representing the FDA to do the inspection of License to Operate part from its inspection of sanitary permit. (Photo courtesy of ARTA)
MANILA -- The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) will implement streamlining of inspections by a local government unit (LGU) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to speed up the processing of sanitary permits and License to Operate (LTO).
ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica met officials and representatives from FDA, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Quezon City Health Department, and the National Association of Business Permits and Licensing Office on Friday to discuss the implementation of streamlined inspections.
In a statement, ARTA said the LGU will now do the inspection for sanitary permit and for FDA’s LTO.
Currently, LGU and FDA do separate inspections for sanitary permit and LTO, respectively.
“Through the deputization of inspection functions, LGUs would be able to inspect food manufacturing enterprises for issuance of FDA’s LTO, together with their inspection for sanitary permits, making LGUs as supervising body while retaining jurisdiction to FDA,” ARTA said.
ARTA added LGU representatives will be trained for the inspection done by the FDA.
Deputizing the FDA inspection to LGU aims to address the backlog in releasing LTOs, ARTA said.
“Through this, we will be able to deliver faster and ultimately better service to the people,” Belgica said.
This will be first implemented in Quezon City, having the largest number of enterprises in the country, before rolling out nationwide.
“Working together is the core of what we are doing in ARTA. That’s why we are grateful for FDA and Quezon City who have welcomed and are leading the developments that we need to see in the government,” Belgica added. (PNA)
