THE Electronic Business Permit and Licensing System (eBPLS), the streamlining program of the government which aims to ease the application and transaction of business permits will soon be adapted by the La Trinidad municipality.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) identified La Trinidad as one of the municipalities in the Cordillera ready to accommodate eBPLS because of the capable computer sets and wifi connection.
Application for the eBPLS would be free of charge and would allow the submission of business permit renewal or application with just a computer and internet connection.
Esperanza Caballero, one of the participants of eBPLS training conducted by the DICT, said to avail of the services of the proposed eBPLS, one would need to register in the website. After doing so, an application form will appear with the list of needed documents to be uploaded.
Once the documents are complete, the application will be filed electronically and would be sent to the Business Permit and Licensing Office for approval. The application would then be linked to the concerned offices including the municipality’s health, fire, engineering, and zoning offices, which may require additional documents and fees. After which, the application would be ready for the assessment of the municipal treasurer, wherein one could pay over the counter or through e-payment.
Additional features will include an electronic tax order of payment to be sent online and an audit trail for the convenience of checking who is handling the application online.
The enrolment of eBPLS will be formalized through a memorandum of agreement with the town officials, DICT and the Department of the Interior Local Government (DILG) officials.
The eBPLS is aimed to be functional by January 2018, with the DICT or DILG tasked for implementing, monitoring, and evaluation. On February 2018, the eBPLS is aimed to be turned over to the municipality.
rCouncilor Nestor Fongwan Jr. added those who apply in person must still be accommodated accordingly.
The eBPLS is a part of the Governance in local government unit (LGU) Project being undertaken as part of the DICT’s proposed electronic-government.
The eLGU aims to make LGUs electronically capable to further enhance the LGU’s public service by increasing its reach and making transactions transparent. (Arianne Jo Julaton/ UP Baguio intern)