Town implements electronics licensing system

By Marna H. Dagumboy - Sun star

LUBAO -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon (ADCL) and Canadian Executive Service Organization (Ceso) on Wednesday extended their support to the local government unit (LGU) here for implementation of their software specifically the establishment of Electronics Business Process and Licensing System (E-BPLS), Real Property Tax System (E-RPTS) and their Community E-Center (CEC).

The E-BPLS aims to standardize the business process flow in the application of business permits and licenses and provide a faster turnover time in the processing of business applications.

In the province, Lubao has already been offering the said system. Aside from reducing the turnaround time in the issuance of business certificates, permits and licenses, E-BPLS tends to eliminate unnecessary duplication and overlapping of agency functions/requirements and abolish those that are redundant and irrelevant; and adopt a simple, effective and transparent step by step procedure in the issuance of business certificates, permits and licenses.

E-BPLS should cover the issuance of Business Name Certificate and Sales Promo Permit by DTI Region 3; Land Use Conversion Certificate by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-3; Export Documents by OSEDC Clark and Subic; Environmental Compliance Certificate by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-3; and Mayor’s Permit by the Cities/Municipalities.

The E-BPLS was tested in various regional offices where it significantly reduced the turnaround time in the issuance of Business Name Certificate from one to two months to just 11 hours; issuance of Sales Promo Permit from two days to 12.7 hours; issuance of Land Use Conversion Certificate by DAR-3 from 130 days (in 2003) to 51-57 days fro priority projects covering five hectares and below, among others.

With the E-BPLS, issuance of Mayor’s Permit by the Cities/Municipalities was also streamlined significantly through; reduction in turnaround time from two weeks to one-month to 15-minutes to two-days; increase in number of applications by 468% from 2004 to 2006; increase in revenue generated by a maximum of 40 percent in 2006; reduction in number of signatories eliminated in 2006; and reduction in number of steps, with a maximum of five steps eliminated in 2006.

Not only E-BPLS, the Lubao town also offers E-RPTS and Community E-Center and Training Center which caters free computer literacy program on out-of-school-youth here.

According to Vice Mayor Salvador Dimson, the Lubao Computer Training Program was able to help and graduated 600 students which Mayor Dennis Pineda fully supported them.

Meanwhile, the DTI has tied-up with the ADCL in promoting E-Gov and E-BPLS here in order to fast track the system offered specifically licensing. Ceso, also a non-government organization (NGO), on the other hand, was the LGU partner in implementing the system here.

Among officials present in event were DTI Pampanga Director Anacleto Blanco; Atty. Jun Canlas and Jesse Yap, members of the ADCL; Minerva Arceo, ADCL executive director; Robert Sagun, Ceso Project Office; Gail Lee, Ceso volunteer adviser; Danilo Aquino, Planning Development Officer; and Councilors Angelito Dampil and Teresito Lingad.

Earlier, a multi-sector group launched a task force which will advocate for the establishment of an E-BPLS in the province.

Led by the ADCL, the group seeking for the use of modern technology in governance in the province includes the National Economic Development Authority (Neda), DTI, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham), Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MACCII) and the Clark Investors and Locators Association (Cila), among others.

Expecting possible resistance from some municipal officials, the task force anchors its advocacy on Malacañang memorandum order No. 117, dated September 15, 2003, which directs local authorities to simplify and rationalize their civil application systems.

The MO also orders the secretaries of DILG and DTI to facilitate the streamlining of procedures in the issuance of permits and licenses particularly business permits, building permits, certificates of occupancy and other clearances; in terms of documentary requirements, procedures and signatories, processing time and processing costs.