THE City Government of Bacolod has already registered a total of 7,531 businesses in the first week of opening of the Business One-Stop-Shop (Boss) at Ayala Malls Capitol Center, Bacolod City.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the business confidence in Bacolod City remained high despite the effects of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
He said as of January 8, the city’s Boss had already registered 7,531 businesses. The figure, which includes businesses that registered in advance beginning November 15, 2020, is already equivalent to 31 percent of last year’s total registration of 23,545.
“The business registration of 23,545 for 2020 was way beyond our expectation considering we were in the midst of a pandemic last year. That means business confidence is still high and we can expect that after this crisis we can restore the vibrancy of the economy,” he added.
Leonardia admitted that the city government had expected a much lower business registration turnout in 2020. A decrease of at least 20 percent to 30 percent was projected, but the drop only amounted to eight percent from the 25,637 total business registrants in 2019.
“This proves the resiliency of Bacolod in view of its “business-friendly” policies,” the mayor said.
Stela Rose Rayos, head of Permits and Licensing Division, earlier said they are now implementing the "No Appointment, No Transaction" policy for the application and renewal of business permits.
She said clients must secure an appointment with the Permits and Licensing Division Office or have an appointment or walk-in appointment.
"They can have an online appointment (ols3.bacolodcity.gov.ph). For Offline/Walk-in Appointment, please visit the Permits and Licensing Division Office on the ground floor of the Bacolod City Government Center or at Ayala Malls," she said.
Since it was the first time to hold Boss outside the Bacolod Government Center, Rayos said they set a limit to accommodate only 300 clients daily.
"We are doing this to ensure the strict observance of minimum health protocols against Covid-19, such as physical distancing, wearing of face mask and face shields," she said.
Leonardia said the mall has wider spaces -- a total of 1,600 square meters -- allowing the strict observance of minimum health protocols against Covid-19.
“Just as important as observing health protocols, we designed this system in line with our business-friendly policies which we had adhered to for so many years. This is an innovation to continuously create an environment conducive for businesses to rapidly grow. Our business community deserves a spacious, convenient, and accessible facility as they are a vital engine to our economic recovery program,” he said.
The Boss caters to the application or renewal of business permits. It will be held from January 4 to March 31, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays.
Although the mall opens at 10 a.m., Rayos said its management has agreed to allow Boss operations to start as early as 9 a.m.
Within this period, she said the applicants for business permits are entitled to avail themselves of a 10-percent discount if they pay in advance their regulatory fees for the whole year on or before March 31.
Joining the Boss are various agencies, including 61 barangays for clearances, City Health Office, City Planning and Development Office – Zoning Division, Office of the Building Official, Environment and Natural Resources Office, City Tourism Office, City Cooperative and Livelihood Development Office, City Department of Agriculture, City Veterinary Office, and Bureau of Fire Protection.
The national agencies are Pag-IBIG and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Except for the BFP, which has set up a desk on the ground floor of Ayala Malls Capitol Central, all other participating agencies are situated on the fourth floor of the mall.