LGUs improving business permit procedures will get incentives

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will dangle incentives to local government units (LGU) that will improve on their business registration process by effectively reducing the number of days needed to obtain business permits and licenses.

During the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the LGUs Friday, DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said they will be asking for a Performance Challenge Fund that will come from the 2011 budget.

“We will not penalize those (LGUs) that do not comply but we will reward the LGUs who complied,” Robredo said. Currently, he noted that they have the cooperation of 70 out of the 150 LGUs.

The Trade Department and the DILG jointly launched a project that will streamline the processes in obtaining business permits and licenses from city and municipal governments.

“Hopefully, this project will help attract more investors to our cities and towns and foster local economic growth, as well as generate job opportunities at the local levels,” Robredo added.

The program will cover four components: simplification and standardization of business permits and licensing system (BPLS) for new registration and renewals; computerization; improving customer relations; and institutionalizing of the reforms.

Under the BPLS, all LGUs shall use a single unified form in processing new applications for business permits and business renewals to reduce the steps and time for applying business permits. The unified form consolidates all the information about a business registrant needed by various local and national agencies and will contribute to the reduction of steps in applying business permits.

Robredo explained that aside from the use of a single unified form, cities and municipalities have to follow the five steps in processing application for new business permits.

“We want our LGUs to adopt computerized BPLS and reduce processing time which shall not take more than five days for the release of the permit,” Robredo noted.