DILG considers merging barangay clearances with BPLOs

The process of securing business permits and licenses in local government units (LGUs) will soon be further improved as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is considering the integration of barangay clearances into the system.

The proposed inclusion of barangay clearances in the business permits and licensing process (BPLS) was one of the issues discussed during the consultation-workshop in BPLS held at the DILG-Napolcom Center recently.

DILG officer-in-charge Catalino S. Cuy says the activity gathered relevant inputs from LGUs on the rationalization of fees and charges at the barangay level, following the upcoming integration of barangay clearances in the BPLS.

“From the very start, President Duterte had very clear instructions that we should hasten and simplify the BPLS process in LGUs. By integrating barangay clearances in the BPLS, businesses would be more motivated to do business with the LGUs because they would find it easier to secure the necessary permits at the local level,” says Cuy.

Earlier, the President directed all national government offices to reduce the requirements and processing time of all transactions with the government in order to improve the delivery of frontline services.

Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD) Director Anna Liza F. Bonagua explains that the activity is in accordance with Section 6.8.1 of the JMC 01, series of 2016, which states that “barangay clearance that are related in doing business may be applied, issued and collected at the city or municipality provided that all collections on the week shall be remitted to the concerned barangay by the end of the week.”

Bonagua mentions that the workshop clarified the roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders of the process, as well as culled out possible enhancements on the policies and guidelines in the future.

One of the LGUs which shared their experiences on integrating the barangay clearance in their business permit system was the Valenzuela BPLO. Presently, 22 out of 33 barangays in Valenzuela already have ordinances authorizing the city to collect fees for business permits on behalf of the barangays.

Present during the workshop were representatives from partner agencies like the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) under the Department of Finance, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), as well as BPLOs from the cities of Valenzuela, Marikina, Paranaque, Manila, and Quezon City.

Also in attendance were barangay council members from Barangay San Roque in Marikina City and Barangay Gen. T. De leon in Valenzuela City, which are also model LGUs for the formulation of guidelines and policies on the streamlining of business permits and licenses.

The DILG through the BLGD will conduct a series of activities to increase the buy-in of the public on the implementation of the BPLS. A consultation with BPLOs, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Competitiveness Council (NCC), and the Department of Finance (DOF) on the unified BPLS form is set to commence to discuss the standardization of the form, which will be used for both new applications and renewal of business permits. (DILG News Archive) Photo Credit: Wikipedia