THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Occidental has registered a total of 5,019 establishments in the province for the first quarter of 2017, higher than the 2,984 listed in the same period last year.
DTI-Negros Occidental records showed 2,092 enterprises have processed their business name registration in January. The figure is higher than the 1,667 and 1,260 registrants for February and March, respectively.
Registered businesses are comprised of 4,744 new registrants and 275 renewals, it added.
In January last year, DTI registered 1,006 establishments, 956 in February, and 1,022 in March.
Engiemar Tupas, senior trade and industry development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental, Wednesday, April 5, said the increase in registration during the first quarter is mainly attributed to the establishment of Negosyo Centers in different key cities of the province.
Tupas said enterprises, especially those out-of-town, may now process their business name registration at the centers unlike of the previous years where they need to file it in Bacolod City.
Since 2015, eight Negosyo Centers have been established in the province, including those at the Provincial Capitol Complex in Bacolod City, and the cities of Kabankalan, Sagay, San Carlos, Victorias, La Carlota and Bacolod, and Hinigaran town.
“Business name registration is among the vital services provided by Negosyo Centers positioned to reach more micro, small and medium enterprises,” Tupas said, reiterating that “more business registrations spell more investments resulting to more employment.”
Tupas also said the local government units of Cadiz and La Castellana are now requiring vendors inside their respective public markets to register aside from commercial establishments.
DTI-Negros Occidental had earlier noted 60 percent of the business registrants in the province includes retail and trading businesses while the rest are other enterprises.
The streamlining of Business Permits and Licensing System requiring all enterprises to register with the agency is mandated under the 2013 joint administrative order of the DTI and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
With this, local government units cannot issue a mayor’s permit to establishments that do not comply with the DTI registration as requisite.
The same payment rates apply – P215 is collected from businesses within the barangays, P515 for those in cities and municipalities, P1,015 for regional businesses, and P2,015 for those national in scope.
With the agency’s 15-minute business registration processing, registrants are required to bring only photocopies of their valid identification cards.
“We are urging LGUs (local government units) to strictly require establishments to obtain business name registration prior to issuance of the mayor’s permit,” Tupas said, adding that increasing trend of business registration manifests local economic progress.