one-stop shop installed

Cagayan de Oro Mayor Constantino Jaraula opened last June 28 the newly-installed Business One-Stop-Shop (BOSS) that will deliver efficient business permitting and licensing activities in the city.

Present to witness the simple rites were officers and members of the Promote CDO Foundation, the Oro Chamber of Commerce, the regional and provincial offices of the Department of Trade and Industry, representatives of various business sectors, and the Business Permitting and Licensing System (BPLS) Streamlining project partner, Local Implementation of National Competitiveness for Economic Growth (LINC-EG).

The project, among other things, will reduce the process steps of securing a mayor’s permit to operate a business and provide the center where all activities will be concentrated under one roof. The project shall also collaborate with other government regulatory office to ensure timely processing of permits for fire, building occupancy and sanitation.

Two days shy of handing over the seat as the city’s local chief executive, Mayor Jaraula was pleased to present the facility to the public. As a major part of the BPLS Streamlining project, it shall be turned over to mayor-elect Vice Mayor Vicente Emano within the first week of July for his support.

“I see a smooth transition and continuation of this LINC-EG-assisted project and I look forward to further strengthening it during the term of Mayor Emano. In fact, since 2006, streamlining the city hall processes of starting a business has already been in the plans between the city government and the local business stakeholders," said Mr. Ruben Vegafria, president of the Promote CDO Foundation.

"Mayor Emano has been wanting to improve the status of the city in the competitiveness surveys and this BPLS Streamlining project is the answer. I am sure he will readily support it,” he added. The private sector group is set to meet with the newly sworn-in mayor by the first working week of July.

Photo courtesy of the City Information Office

that nightclubbing girl

No matter what is said, I love my Nightclub City game. It's done in entirely black and silver motif, and the music ranges from pop, hiphop, and indie electro. I take pride in the house club mix, but we also do mean mashups. Welcome to the club!

private sector speaks up

Cagayan de Oro City – Capitol University released last June 19 2010 the results of its survey on the impact of the city’s licensing processes to the business community.

Dr. Numeriano G. Escalante, the Director of the Research and Extension Office of the university, presented to the officers and employees of the city hall the partial results of a study that involved interviews, focus group discussions and survey among Cagayan de Oro business establishments.

The respondents from the private sector related their experiences with business permitting processes, whether they are registering for the first time, renewing their registration, on the process of registering, or have not accomplished their registration.

The survey was conducted through a purposive sampling among owners, managers and bookkeepers of local business establishments. The survey findings included feedback, among others, on the existing process of securing a business permit, the most difficult requirement to comply with and the time associated with that requirement, the assessment mechanism for business renewals, and the length of time in the issuance of the business permit.

The survey showed that the barangay clearance and the fire safety certificate are two of the most difficult business permit pre-application requirements to secure. On the other hand, the assessment portion was reported as the most difficult step in the business licensing process.

The partial results of the survey were presented during the local government unit’s business permit and licensing system (BPLS) streamlining workshop last week. Acknowledging the difficulties in the system as experienced and narrated by the various private sector survey respondents, city hall officers and employees shall use the results as a guide in the ongoing project of BPLS streamlining.

Reacting to the survey, the local government officers agreed that shortening the permitting process into three steps only and further professionalizing the delivery of services shall improve the satisfaction level of the business community and entice more establishments to register.

The survey was conducted by Capitol University with the support of the Local Implementation of National Competitiveness for Economic Growth (LINC-EG), a USAID-funded policy reform and implementation project.

The full survey results shall be presented to the incoming mayor, Hon. Vicente Emano, for his appreciation.

biz permitting in 3 steps

Cagayan de Oro City – Members of various offices of the city hall gathered together June 17-18 2010 for a two-day workshop to develop an effective business processing and licensing system (BPLS) model in the city.

Participating in the activity were the City Treasurer’s Office, Business Licensing Division of the Mayor’s Office, City Administrator’s Office, City Planning Office, City Building Official, City Health Office, City Fire Marshall, City Information Office and the Human Resource Management Office.

As part of the Streamlining BPLS Project, an ongoing endeavor of the local government unit, the workshop participants discussed and agreed on the streamlined process of processing business registrations which reduced the steps into only three: validation of application, payment, and receipt of permit to operate.

The workshop, which was also joined and supported by the Misamis Oriental provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as well as the Promote CDO Foundation, put together the plan of institutionalizing the Business Processing and Licensing Office (BPLO) which shall be the overseer of the BPLS operations and its continuous improvement at the city hall.

Aside from the planned changes in the business permitting process, the city hall group also looked at the clearances and permits required prior to the application for business permits, and identified future partnerships with the concerned government agencies and offices to further improve client servicing.

The preliminary study for the BPLS streamlining project started during the term of the former chief executive Hon. Constantino Jaraula, but the full plan will be submitted to the incoming mayor, Hon. Vicente Emano, for his approval and support and the plan’s eventual implementation.

Aimed to improve the Cagayan de Oro system to exemplify the established national standards and encourage business investments into the city, the BPLS streamlining project is a collaboration with the Local Implementation of National Competitiveness for Economic Growth (LINC-EG), a USAID-funded policy reform and implementation project. LINC-EG works with government and private sector to improve governance of the business environment leading to more investments, fiscal responsibility and economic growth.

the city of cebu

with my airline official seatmate, angela

silent city hall in a non-working holiday

the family that poses together, stays together

four glorious jumps in historic fort san pedro