House approves faster business permits, license processing

THE HOUSE of Representatives has a bill creating a Commission to simplify procedures for securing business permits and licenses.

House Bill 6579 creates the Ease of Doing Business Commission (EODBC), which will plan, implement and oversee a national policy for streamlining business requirements at the national and local levels.

The bill, also known as the “Ease of Doing Business Act,” ensures transparency in business registrations and other public transactions.

National Government Agencies (NGA) and Local Government Units (LGUs) will be mandated to post a comprehensive checklist of requirements for every type of license, clearance or permit.

The bill also requires one-day processing of applications at the barangay level, three working days for simple applications, and 10 working days for complex applications.

Thirty working days will be the prescribed processing time for special types of businesses that require clearances,

accreditation or licenses issued by government agencies.

An NGA or LGU will be assigned a unique identification number, which should be the ID used by the holder for all subsequent business registration-related transactions between the agency and the business.

A system will be provided for the automatic approval of applications that are not processed within the prescribed period or inaction by the concerned NGA or LGU without informing clients of errors, omissions or additional documents required for submission.

A single or unified business application form will be used in processing new requests for permits and renewals. It consolidates all information regarding local taxes and clearances such as building clearances, sanitary permits, zon- LGU requirements, including the clearance from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

An electronic Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) will be set up in the city or municipality’s business permit and licensing system, which will receive and process manual or electronic submissions of license, clearance or permit applications.

A National Policy on Ease of Doing Business for a comprehensive business registration and regulatory management policy will also be formulated to boost competitiveness.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology will establish a cloud-native Central Business Portal to receive applications and capture data from businesses.

Cutting government red tape was one of the campaign promises of then candidate, Davao City Mayor Rordrigo Duterte.