MANILA – The amended Corporation Code simplifies the creation of a company and makes it a lot easier to do business in the country, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Thursday.
President Rodrigo Duterte On Wednesday signed the Revised Corporation Code, which aims to improve ease of doing business in the country by allowing a one-person corporation, removing the minimum capital requirement, and provides for perpetual existence of companies.
“The amended Corporation Code would help simplify the process of incorporation to make the present Corporate Code attuned to the changing business landscape,” Drilon, a proponent of the measure, said.
“With the amendment permitting the establishment of a one-person corporation, it will be a lot easier for local business owners and investors to register their business with the Securities and Exchange Commission,” the senator said.
The amended code also introduces provisions to remove the minimum number of incorporators, permit the electronic filing of reportorial requirements and attendance in meetings via remote communication or in absentia – practices that were not recognized in the old law Batas Pambansa Bilang 68.
It strengthens corporate governance standards and protects minority stockholders by requiring, among others, corporations vested with public interest to have independent directors.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said the law is a positive development in the corporate sector. It gives business owners more ease in registering their businesses.
“Also, if our rank improves in terms of ease of doing business, it will attract more foreign companies to set up shop in the Philippines,” Limlingan said.
In the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report issued last November, the Philippines fell to 124th from 113th previously out of 190 economies ranked.
Drilon said the new code’s enactment is “very timely” given the country’s “dismal ranking” in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report.
“The passage into law of this measure is critical in our bid to improve the country’s business climate and make our economy more competitive with the rest of the world,” the senator said.
It paves the way to key reforms in four areas of corporate governance: improving the ease of business in the country, prioritizing corporate and stockholder protection, instilling corporate and civic responsibility, and strengthening the country’s policy and regulatory framework, Drilon noted.
“In general, the proposed amendments promote efficiency and encourage transparency in all corporate dealings – from formation to daily operations,” he added. (GMA News)
