A PROPOSAL to set up one-stop-business shops in Cagayan de Oro City’s malls or areas with high foot traffic is being floated amid City Hall’s preparations for the 2024 business permit renewal and registration.
In an interview, Asst. City Treasurer Leonil Mistula said while they had plans to set up these business one-stop shops in the malls, they’re unprepared to do so next year.
“But hopefully in 2025 we can set up a one-stop business shop that will offer these services the whole year round,” Mistula said in Filipino.
A meeting spearheaded by the City Administrator’s Office was held last Thursday to map out preparations for the annual business permit renewal and registration that kicks off in January next year at the City Tourism Hall.
To decongest City Hall's long lines of business permit applicants and traffic within the area, officials plan to ramp up its education campaign to encourage the public to focus their transactions online.
The Business Permit Licensing Division (BPLD) said City Hall registered 31,652 business permits for renewal and registration as of November 9 this year or slightly higher than the 29,696 recorded for the same period last year.
From Jan. 3 up to the Feb. 28 extended deadline, the city recorded 22,633 business permit renewals, or 28 percent more than last year’s 17,537.
Of the 22,633 that renewed their business permits, about 1,108 did so online. Mistula explained that City Hall wants to encourage business owners to conduct their transactions online for their convenience in compliance with the national government’s Ease of Doing Business (EOB) campaign.
City Hall did conduct off-site registration and business permit renewal at one of the city’s malls early this year. However, the majority of the applicants still applied for business permit renewals and registration at the City Tourism Hall.
“This business one-stop-shop (to be set up by City Hall should be available) year-round, in an area with the most number of applicants. We have two districts so most likely we’ll establish two business one-stop shops. We have to consider accessibility, strong Wi-Fi connection, and a substantial area to accommodate regulatory offices like City Building Office and so on,” Mistula said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)
