INCOMPETENCE plus incompetence equals incompetence, said Lawrence J. Peter, the world-renowned author of the classic book, “The Peter Principle”, a concept in management which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence."
On the other hand, it is simple neglect of duty when a public officer or government official failed to give proper attention to a task expected from him, resulting from either carelessness or indifference.
Incompetence and simple neglect of duty can be applied to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman and commissioners at its head office in Metro Manila when they failed to implement the law, mandating for the establishment of a SEC office in Bacolod.
Today many corporate officers, businessmen, and people who want to form corporations, non-government offices (NGOs), and partnerships, have been wondering why until now, the law establishing the SEC office in Bacolod has not yet been implemented.
After all, Republic Act No. 10785, known as the “SEC Bacolod Office Law,” establishing a Securities and Exchange Commission Office in Bacolod City, and Appropriating Funds Therefor” had been passed on May 3, 2016.
When that law was passed, there was a budget of P 10 Million for the first year, with a staff complement of 10 people to handle its operations. For the succeeding years, its budget will be included in the General Appropriations Act, which is the annual budget of the national government.
Recently, lawyer Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, executive director and past president of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for Information and Communications Technology (Bnefit), prepared a Petition addressed to the newly-appointed SEC Chairman Emilio Aquino, requesting SEC head office to implement the said law.
In her prepared Petition to be signed also by business leaders and professionals in Bacolod, lawyer Jocelle mentioned that Bacolod and the province of Negros Occidental are poised to become the technopreneurial hub of the Philippines with the steady growth of startups and MSMEs, real estate and commercial establishments such as food, logistics, finance, and tourism businesses.
While people want to improve the ease of doing business in Bacolod and in the province, yet they are faced with so many challenges under the new online SEC registration.
Another problem is the inconvenience of constantly calling SEC Iloilo Office for the availability of their certificates of registration, and of going there for the regular filing of SEC-related papers, and many concerns attributed to that lack of a SEC office in Bacolod.
Times are changing, and for Bacolod and Negros Occidental to continue to economically develop, improve business climate, attain ease in forming and registering new partnerships, NGOs and corporations that generate employment, pay taxes and provide goods and services, it is necessary that the law must be implemented- establishing the SEC Office in Bacolod.
There is no other way because the implementation of the law is the only way.
(Eli Gatanela is a lawyer, licensed real estate consultant and urban planner. For comments and feedback, e-mail him at eligat_ph@yahoo.com)