Manila – Institute for Labor Studies Acting Chief of the Labor and Social Relations Research Division, Ms. Miraluna S. Tacadao participated in the “Seminar on Consultations in Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)” hosted by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) last March 3, at the DAP Building, San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

The seminar was attended by various stakeholders, particularly those engaged in the crafting of policy regulations in the government. The DAP has been regularly conducting seminars and forums which focus on the impact and importance of the Regulatory Impact Assessment framework. This seminar is part of the Modernizing Government Regulations (MGR) Program of the DAP in partnership with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). In his previous pronouncements, DAP President and CEO Atty. Englebert C. Caronan, MNSA mentioned that the “the MGR program is part of the Academy’s overarching strategy to make the bureaucracy responsive to the needs of the times.”

DAP’s MGR program aims to enhance capacity of agencies to deliver regulatory services, identify measures to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden on specific industries, and develop mechanisms that would make regulations more relevant and coherent.

The ILS has made use of RIA in its researches such as its 2014 Working Paper titled, “Regulatory Impact Assessment: Holiday Rationalization Review,” which focused on assessing the effect of holidays to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), business process outsourcing (BPO), and wage and salaried workers in the private sector, and its 2012 Working paper study, “Regulatory Impact Assessment Adoption Determinants: A Diagnostic Framework,” which puts forward a diagnostic framework to allow DOLE Regulatory Offices to examine their current state of regulatory practice and identify capacity determinants that reinforce or impede the adoption of best regulatory principles and practice. Both papers were authored by former ILS Executive Director Cynthia R. Cruz.

The conduct of RIA on regulatory proposals, as required by the Republic Act 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, entails consultations to help identify the real-world impact of regulations. The DAP believes that a properly conducted RIA, in which appropriate consultations have been undertaken, is likely to lead to better regulatory outcomes and greater acceptance among affected stakeholders.

The RIA Framework was introduced to DOLE in early 2012 to improve the quality of labor market regulation for increased competitiveness.