Data bank to lessen requirements

Promising to cut red tape in government, business owners transacting with government agencies and local government units are expected to bring fewer documentary requirements with them after the rollout of Philippine Business Data Bank (PBDB).

Launched yesterday, the webbased PBDB, which can be accessed via the National Government Portal, aims to streamline the application and renewal of business permits through the online sharing of information by government agencies involved.

The initiative is led by the the Department of Finance (DOF) along with the Department of Information Technology (DICT) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

PBDB will also involve the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which chairs the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the country’s economic zones and over 1,600 local government units (LGUs).

PBDB plans to include business data of economic locators in the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

DOF said the public will have access to the PBDB to help them verify the existence of a specific business entity, which the system can generate by accessing data from various sources.

“Information shared in the PBDB system covers data that businesses have already made public, as contained in their respective business permits that are required to be displayed in a conspicuous area in their place of business,” DOF said in a statement. /