Also ordered to make the process easier and faster, if not entirely abolish those paper work, the agencies of government that have erected so many requirements to doing business in the Philippines over the years, were very slow to comply.

Only two have eliminated export clearances and eight shortened the procedure of getting one.

More than half or exactly 16 agencies have clung to the export clearances. This summarized the status on compliance to executive order 554 issued by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo late last year and monitored by the quasi-government Export Development Council.

Agencies under the Department of Agriculture topped the list of those who followed the presidential order to stop charging fees, the EDC report showed. These included the National Food Authority that issues export licenses, the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Fiber Industry Development Authority, the National Tobacco Administration, the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

The rest of the agencies that have done away with clearance fees included the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) under the health department, the International Coffee Organization Certifying Agency, the cement export clearance office and the regional offices of the Department of Trade and Industry, the oil industry management bureau of the energy department and the Philippine International Trading Corporation.

Export commodity clearances that were issued by DTI regional offices and the Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIBA) were totally junked.

The bigger number of agencies that have not budged in complying with the presidential order reflected the difficulty of matching with action at the agency level a decision made by the chief executive.

The abolition of fees on so many export permits and clearances was done in response to the complaint of exporters that most of them were largely ceremonial, not necessary and often delayed the shipment of goods to destinations abroad.

These have contributed to a large extent in the low ratings of the Philippines in its ability to compete and the ease of doing business. It was also one of the reasons why the country has been avoided by investors in recent years.