Monday, November 27, 2006 DTI opens one-stop shop for new business entrants
A ONE-stop-shop center, which will facilitate the processing and documentation of all paper requirements for the establishment of business enterprises in Cebu is now open.
The services of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (Nerbac), located at the ground floor of LDM building, is the same one occupied by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Cebu.
Nerbac processes business name registration, business licensing and Board of Investments (BOI) registration; facilitates BOI incentives; conducts investment promotion; and assists in financing, credit services, business research and business information management.
Nerbac-Cebu is one of two Nerbac centers established in the country. The other one is located in Davao.
“If there is any province that truly deserves these programs or facilities, Cebu is clearly on top of the list. (The cities of) Cebu and Davao have been chosen as pilot areas for the Nerbac because they serve as the main centers for economic activities in the Visayas and Mindanao, respectively,” DTI Secretary Peter Favila said in his speech read by DTI undersecretary Carissa Cruz-Evangelista during Nerbac’s launch last Thursday.
Favila said Nerbac is part of the DTI’s commitment under the government’s Anti-Red Tape Program, as the center’s operations will reduce processing time of critical government frontline services due to the elimination of “redundant and irrelevant” procedures.
With Nerbac, the time needed to issue business name certificates will go down to 12 working hours from three days; sales promotion permit, from two days to 12 working hours; and BOI investment registration processing time, from 60 days to 20 days.
The Nerbac is also expected to process about 100 to 120 business name applications a day from the current average of 80.
“Thus, it is expected that the Nerbac will promote SME (small and medium enterprise) growth due to the reduced cost of doing business and reduced turn around time for critical government frontline services,” Favila said.
“So, I exhort you to make the most of them to sustain your local economy’s dynamism in the midst of intense competition in the global market,” he added. (JBN)
