The Parañaque City government has launched a simplified and integrated business permit renewal system in a bid to enhance investor confidence and improve service delivery to local and foreign investors.
The system, dubbed as Express Lane Operation or Project ELO, is in line with Republic Act 11032 or Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018 signed by President Duterte in May last year.
Mayor Edwin Olivarez said with the launching of the project this year, they are optimistic that more investors will register and put up business establishments in the city.
One of the system’s salient features is the elimination of securing permits from different barangays, previously a prerequisite before a Mayor’s permit is granted, according to Olivarez.
With the new project, the first in the country, he said, business owners need not go to barangay hall to apply for a barangay clearance.
It will now be applied, paid and issued at the Paranaque city hall along with the fire safety inspection certificate, sanitary permit, certificate of conformance, from planning office and the mayor’s permit to operate a business, he added.
Project ELO is located at the newly renovated Taxpayers Lounge of the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), which serves as the concierge of the project, ground floor of the city hall.
The team is composed of personnel from BPLO, Planning and Development Office, Office of the Building Official, City Health Office, City Treasurer’s Office, Liga ng Baranagay, the Bureau of Fire and Protection and the Philippine National Police.
“This integrated and simplified process eliminate days of back and forth from the barangay and to other department of the city which the time and resources of business permit applicants,” Olivarez said.
“This is part of our commitment to be one of the most business-friendly local government units in the country under the Bagong Paranaque program of governance,” he explained.
As a result of the launch of the project last Jan. 3, the first working day of the year in government offices, assessments nearly doubled to P81 million compared P46 million generated in the first working day of 2018, according to BPLO chief Melanie Malaya.
Likewise, payments ballooned to P5.5 million on the first day, up from P3.2 million last year, she said.
Last year, the BPLO collected P2.5-billion business taxes and fees from 23,000 business registrants citywide. Malaya added that they are expecting an increase of 15 percent business applicants through Project ELO this year.
For his part, city treasurer Anthony Pulmano said the world class resorts and casino in the Entertainment City situated along Coastal Road and the massive developments taking place in the city played a major role in the development of the city.
Records disclosed that the entry of hotel casino operators have tremendously increased the city annual income to P6 billion this year compared to only P2 billion collected by the previous administration.