President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has named Atty. Ernesto Perez as the new director general of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA).
Perez succeeds Atty. Jeremiah Belgica who served from July 2019 to June 2022.
He took his oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.
Prior to being appointed as chief of the anti-red tape body, Perez was Deputy Director General for Operations since 2019 and concurrent officer-in-charge of the agency since June 2022 under the Office of the President's Memorandum Circular No. 3.
Perez was appointed in December 2018, serving as ARTA's first ever employee.
"This appointment is really providential, as it would allow us to further continue what we have always aspired for from the very start, that is, to remove red tape and increase the ease of doing business, ultimately benefiting the economy and the people," he stated.
"I thank President Bongbong Marcos for his trust and for Executive Secretary Bersamin's guidance and support, as well as my colleagues in the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), who are doing the legwork to ensure effective and efficient government service delivery," he added.
The new director general vowed that the agency "will continue to be committed to performing its mandate by improving the ease of doing business in the country to help attract more investors."
Perez is a lawyer and certified public accountant (CPA) by profession. He has served as the assistant secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) – Consumer Protection Group January 2017 to November 2018.
He concurrently served as chairman of the DTI-Steel Task Force where he led the investigation on the biggest steel importation in the country.