Ombudsman cites San Fernando for ‘ease of doing business’

CITY OF AN FERNANDO— Ease of doing business in the City of San Fernando was once again proven and tested as it passed the “Level 2- Blue Certification” validated and conferred by the Office of the Ombudsman during the presentation of the assessment report last August 23.

With an average of 69 or 79.31 percent, the city obtained the level 2 compliance because of its suitable implementation of efficient regulatory systems and procedures in the registration and licensing of businesses, and renewal of business permits.

It is the first and so far the only city in Luzon which passed the assessment.

In an interview, Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Graft Investigator Officer Joseph Marion Navarrete said the “Blue Certification Program” seeks to acknowledge the efforts of the local government units in complying to the anti-red tape law and transparency.

He furthered that San Fernando is the only city in Luzon which has best practices in terms of business application forms and process, where they observed the actual process and interviewed clients and frontliners last Januray 2018.

“It is so wonderful to do business here in the City of San Fernando because everything from application up to processing and operations of offices is efficient which we can say is less prone to corruption,” he said.

For his part, Mayor Edwin ‘EdSa’Santiago expressed his gratitude to the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for recognizing the efforts of the city.

He added that the city will continue to deliver competent and hassle-free transactions to the community.

“We always aspire for success in all aspects because we believe that if the city’s economy is good, so are the lives of Fernandinos. Expect better and quality service for the continuous growth of the City of San Fernando Fernando,” Santiago said.

— CSF-CIO