‘NO EXTENSION’ Businesses sans permits face closure

ILOILO City – The deadline for business permit renewal this year is Jan. 20 and it won’t be extended, said Mayor Jerry Treñas. On Jan. 21 the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) of the city government will start inspecting business establishments.

“BPLO inspectors will check allestablishments. Those that have no business permits or failed to renew them would be padlocked,” said Treñas.

The BPLO would be assisted by the Bureau of Fire Protection, City Tourism and Development Office and the City Treasure’s Office.

Treñas recently reprimanded BPLO chief Norman Tabud for complaining that the latter’s office did not have enough logistics to check if some businesses were operating without permits.

Nag-create na ko gani task force para mabuligan sya,” stressed the mayor.

BPLO’s 2018 data showed that the business sector here was predominantly made up of microenterprises – around 90 percent of which had asset sizes of not more than P3 million.

The most prevalent type of businesses in the city were in wholesale trade and merchandising, followed by the food and beverage and hospitality sectors, with real estate and leasing coming in fourth.

It recently came to Treñas’ attention that a septic tank desludging company had long been operating without a business permit.

He was referring to the Malabanan Siphoning Services which littered the city with stickers advertising its services yet the BPLO had no idea it did not have a permit.

“So very disappointing, it should not happen again,” Treñas stressed.

In a related development, the mayor issued a memorandum to barangay captains that the community tax certificate (CTC) or cedula would no longer be a requirement in the issuance of the barangay clearance for business.

Treñas said the CTC would now be computed and paid together with the business tax and other fees at the City Treasurer’s Office. This is in line with the one-time assessment and one-time payment at the business one-stop shop at the City Treasurer’s Office. 

According to the mayor, this is part of the city’s effort to further streamline its Business Permits and Licensing System. The goal is to make securing and/or renewing business permit easier, he stressed./PN

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