BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia directed the Permits and Licensing Division and other concerned departments to make Bacolod an extra business-friendly city.
Leonardia issued the directive during the opening of the Business One-Stop-Shop at the Bacolod Government Center Wednesday, January 3.
“We are doing our best to be a very business-friendly and we believe that this is dynamic and this is the process that continuously we can try to improve,” he said.
“We are emphasizing being business-friendly because we believe that this is the start of the dynamism of our economy. If business is good, then our people will have employment opportunities and it will also mean more taxes to collect so we can also give more services to our people,” mayor added.
In previous years, Bacolod was named as the most business-friendly city in the country.
Permits and Licensing Division head Stela Rose Rayos said representatives from the City Health Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, Office of the Building Official, Environment and Natural Resources Office (Enro), and some barangays were deployed for the one-stop-shop.
She said the Social Security System, Pag-ibig, and PhilHealth will also join.
Rayos added that Leonardia issued an executive order to all barangays to send their representatives to the Government Center to sign the clearances of the business permit applicants within their respective barangays.
The one-stop-shop will end on January 20.
Rayos said that in 2016, they issued a total of 19,021 business permits and 22,004 in 2017, or with an increase of 15.68 percent.
She said she is hopeful that this year, the business applicants will increase by 20 percent.
Rayos noted that in 2017, they conducted tax mapping and business inspections in various areas.
The standard steps in the processing of business permit have been reduced to only three from the previous five.
These include: Step 1. File application at the Permits and Licensing Division Office; Step 2. One-time assessment of taxes, fees, and charges; and Step 3. One-time payment of taxes, fees, and charges, receipt of official receipt, and claim mayor’s permit and other regulatory permits and clearances.
The applicants may download the business permit application form at @bacolodcity.gov.ph/bacolod_city.htm.
Rayos said that those who will pay a full amount of their business permit assessment will avail a 10 percent discount.
On December 1, 2017, the Permits and Licensing Division started releasing business permit application forms.
“We are committed to release business permits renewals in one day while those under new applications, in only two days,” Rayos said.
She said that business establishment owners should avoid dealing with fixers because it is easy now to secure a business permit.
Rayos added that the Public Order and Safety Office guards were deployed at the lobby to monitor the possible presence of fixers.
In 2016, Leonardia also issued Memorandum No. 234, directing the department heads to follow the implementing guidelines for processing of business permits under joint Memorandum Circular No. 01, series of 2016 dated August 30, 2016 of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Information and Communication Technology.