PCAB launches online portal for contractor license renewal

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) has launched an online portal and relaxed documentary requirements for the renewal of licenses amid the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the online portal https://pcabgovph.com would make it easier to renew the license as contractors no longer need to go to any PCAB office.

PCAB is one of the implementing boards of the DTI’s attached agency, the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines.

PCAB has also reduced the documentary requirements for license renewal to nine digital submissions from 24.

Republic Act 4566 or the Contractor’s License Law and its implementing rules and regulations provide at least 24 documentary requirements for PCAB license renewal, but the board decided to simplify and reduce the requirements following consultations with industry players including the Philippine Constructors’ Association, Davao Constructors Association Center Inc., Cebu Contractors’ Association and the National Constructors’ Association of the Philippines Inc., given the health crisis.

Personal appearances for mandated interviews will be done through the digital platform, while electronic payment is available through Land Bank of the Philippines’ Link Biz Portal.

After submission of requirements and payment, evaluation and approval will also be conducted online.

Once the renewal application is approved, the license can be accessed digitally.

PCAB chairman Pericles Dakay said: “This will be a great relief for around 15,000 contractors of our country, 90 percent of which are small and medium enterprises, who can immediately renew their licenses before June 30, the expiration date of all licenses according to the law.”

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the construction industry is among the most important sectors of the economy, creating the greatest number of jobs.

From 2016 to 2019, he said the industry, through the government’s flagship Build Build Build (BBB) program for infrastructure development, has added around 800,000 jobs to reach 4.2 million, accounting for 10 percent of the workforce last year.

“This is why government services, such as licensing, should work for businesses, most especially with the construction industry that can create a large impact and huge multiplier effect for all of us. Making the renewal system online is always the ultimate form of ease of doing business,” he said.

Construction spending accounts for about 17 percent of the gross domestic product, and posted more than 10 percent average annual growth in recent years, the fastest among all business sectors.

The pandemic’s impact on the economy however, has resulted in a slowdown of the industry.

Given the contribution of the construction industry, Dakay said public infrastructure spending through the BBB and improving and simplifying the licensing system for construction firms would help in economic recovery.

While the online portal was launched to implement health protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Dakay said PCAB would continue to modernize licensing processes even beyond the pandemic.

In particular, PCAB would be working to automate other transactions such as new applications for license, upgrading of license category, and consortium and joint venture applications.

PCAB will also make more e-payment facilities available on the portal in the coming weeks.