STREAMLINING OF

BUSINESS PERMIT
AND LICENSING
SYSTEM
 Where we are Right Now
• DTI/SEC/CDA Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple
•Brgy Clearance Forms Inspection Assessment Payment Signatories
•Etc (business •CEO
specific) •Zoning
•etc
 The experience of our
Applicant No. of Steps

Time

What seems to a simple transaction

Suddenly becomes too complicated Applicant
when we combine all the steps
 The experience of our
Applicant No. of Steps

Time

What seems to a simple transaction

Suddenly becomes too complicated Applicant
when we combine all the steps
Ultimate Goal of the
Standard
 The standards set by the national
government is the minimum performance
target for LGUs.

 LGUs are encouraged to surpass the

standards, if not in this round of
streamlining, then in the future
 Improve local ranking in competitiveness surveys
 Aim for ISO Certification
Guidelines in Implementing the Standards in
Processing Business Permits and Licenses in
all cities and municipalities
BPLS Reform Standards

 Unified Form – consolidates all

the information about a business
registrant

 Standard Steps – 5 steps:

Table 1: procedural reforms for new business permit
applications
Table 1: procedural reforms for RENEWAL OF business permit
applications
How are going to get there?
Support Mechanisms

1 2 Unified 3 One-Time 4 One-Time

Form Assessment Payment

Applicant
 How the support mechanism will
help you comply with the
Standard?

Unified One-Time One-Time

5 signatories
Form Assessment Payment

Unified Form eliminates Facilitates one time

repetitive writing of the payment and assessment
same information
Applicant
One-Stop-Shop

 Ideally, the applicant should transact all the

requirements in a single location

Unified One-Time One-Time

5 signatories
Form Assessment Payment
 SUPPORT MECHANISMS
1. Business One-Stop-Shop (BOSS)

A single common location where an applicant for business

registration can avail of complete LGU BPLS services thru a
streamlined process.
How others complied and better the Standard
 What others are doing?
Others cities and
municipalities put
assessment as
backroom Process,
effectively cutting the One-Time 5
number of step into Assessment signatories
two.
Backroom Process

Unified One-Time
Form Payment

Best Time 15 minutes Applicant

(committed Time)
What others will do?

One-Time
5 signatories
Assessment

Backroom Process

One-Time
Payment

Applicant
How about you?

 What will you do?

 FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
 .     What does
“BPLS Streamlining”
mean?

reconstruct the current business permits

and licensing systems of LGUs for the
purpose of simplifying and making them
more efficient
service standards in processing
business registration
applications, both for new and
renewals:
1) adopting a unified form, and
2)reducing the number of steps,
3) processing time, and
4) the number of signatories in securing business
permits/renewals. 
 While we are streamlining BPLS,
can we also standardize the
documentary requirements for
business registration?

Memorandum Circular No. 2011-15 dated

January 31 on “Documentary Requirements
for Business Permits”.   

  Rationalize the documentary requirements for a business

permit by limiting documents to those required by law, zoning
ordinances and other regulations; and,
 
  Stop additional requirements beyond those, which are legally
required including verbal impositions by action or processing
officers. 
What are the documentary
requirements for registering
a new business?

 1.    SEC/DTI/CDA Certificate of
Registration
 2.    Location Map and Barangay
Clearance
 3.    Occupancy Permit-     Copy of the
Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC)
– also required for the Occupancy
Permit
  
For business renewals, the
following documents should be
attached to the unified form

 1.    Previous Business Permit

 2. Brgy clearance

 3.    Statement of Gross Sales from the

previous year 
 What standards should be
promoted to the LGUs:
those found in the ARTA
or the JMC?

 The business registration standards found in the 2010

JMC are consistent with those in the ARTA of 2007. 
They are minimum standards that all cities and
municipalities should comply with.LGUs should be
encouraged to follow the best practices in each of the
standards, which have been identified in the JMC. 
 The Joint Memorandum Circular
(JMC) No. 1 contains two sets
of recommendations: the basic
standard and the best
practice. Which recommendation
should be proposed to the LGUs
– the basic standard or the
best practice?
 All cities and municipalities are mandated to
follow the basic standards prescribed in the
ARTA and JMC. However, LGUs are enjoined
to strive to reach or even surpass the best
practice.
 If an LGU already has a
Citizens Charter, does it need
to revise this to include the
streamlined BPLS process?

 The Citizen’s Charter - a guide to assist the public in

transacting with government .If the LGU has reformed
its BPLS, the Citizen’s Charter should embody the
processes in the reformed system

 Yes, there is a need to revise the citizen’s charter to

reflect the streamlined BPLS. 
 What is the difference
between the unified form
and documentary
   requirements?
 The unified form is a document /
prescribed form that can be used by
business enterprises when applying for
business registration or renewing their
business permits. The form is usually
accompanied by documentary
requirements
 .   Are all LGUs
mandated to streamline
their BPLS thru the
adoption of BPLS
standards?
 Yes, JMC no. 1 enjoins all cities and
municipalities to adopt the BPLS service
standards on the form, steps, processing time
and signatories.

 The Anti-Red Tape Act provides legal sanctions

to those that will fail to comply with the
standards. 
 If the documentary
requirements attached to
the unified form are
incomplete, should the
application still be
accepted? 

 Yes.  Even if the application lacks the documentary

requirements, the Anti-Red Tape Act requires the
LGUs to accept the form. However, the processing
of the form may be delayed until all the
requirements are complete. 
What is the difference between the
NERBAC unified form and the unified
form prescribed in Joint Memorandum
Circular No. 1 on BPLS?
 The NERBAC “unified form” facilitates
meeting the NGA requirements, which are
pre-requisites or documentary requirements
to business registration.
 The unified form in the JMC -mainly focuses
on informational requirements for the actual
business registration and contains
information important for the LGU.
The BPLS unified form still includes
fields to indicate the person/s that
will assess the different types of
taxes and fees (p.2). Is this
consistent with the efforts to
consolidate the assessment of fees
and taxes thru the “one-time
assessment” of fees and charges?
Answer
 The assessment process should ideally be a
backroom process in the LGU, which is not known to
the applicant. The application paper may internally
be passed on from one person/department to
several persons/departments

 The only time the applicant will participate is when

he goes to the assessment windows where he is
given the finished assessment form. If process is
operated as outlined above, then this is consistent
with the one-time assessment.   The LGU may
operationalize it manually or automate it using
Information communication technology (ICT).
BPLS Steps 

 Can the five steps in applying for business

permits or business renewals still be
achieved given the requirements of the
amended Fire Code? RA 9514 which require
the separate assessment and payment of
fire code fees to the Bureau of Fire
Protection, which may translate to an
additional 3-4 steps and its accompanying
implementing rules and regulations,
 The standard can be achieved if:
 (1) the assessment of fire code fees is integrated
into the one-time assessment of fees undertaken
by the LGU; and
 (2) the payment of fire code fees is done in the
same vicinity as the payment of LGU fees. These
conditions, however, entail the designation of the
Treasurer as the collecting agent of the Bureau of
Fire Protection.
 A Memorandum of Agreement or MOA is presently
being worked out between the Bureau of Fire
Protection under the Department of the Interior
and Local Government, and the Bureau of Local
Government Finance under the Department of
Finance.    
 BPLS Processing Time 
the applicant and measures the time it takes the applicant to get the mayor’s permit from the period that the application form is submitted to the LGU. Processing time

In determining compliance with the standard

on processing time, what is the basis for
measuring processing time?

Ans : The standard on processing time

takes the perspective of the applicant and
measures the time it takes the applicant to
get the mayor’s permit from the period that
the application form is submitted to the
LGU. Processing time therefore would
include the waiting time of the applicant. 
 In many instances, the processing time is
affected by the delays in securing
clearances from the regulatory bodies of
government like the SSS, PhilHealth, and
Bureau of Fire Protection.  How can the
LGU handle these delays, which are beyond
its control?
Answer:
 DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2011-15
issued on January 31, 2011 recommends that
LGUs “issue a conditional permit to a
business where the only lacking clearances
are those of the SSS, PhilHealth and PAG-
IBIG, with the understanding that such
clearances will have to be submitted within a
period of one (1) month from the issuance of
such conditional permit, and that failure to
submit such clearances within the one-month
period can result in the revocation or non-
renewal of a business permit.”    
BPLS Signatories

 Prior to JMC No.1, the BPLS of many LGUs

required multiple signatories corresponding
to the different regulatory agencies within
the LGU that are involved in the business
registration processes.   In reducing the
number of signatures in the registration
process, whose signatures should be
retained?
Answer:

 The Manual of Standard specifies just two

signatories to be retained in the business
permit, the Mayor, The City Treasurer or the
BPLO.
. There are some LGUs that are
resisting the use of the unified form
since they already have existing
systems  which could not accommodate
the form. What can the LGU do? 
 Answer:
 With  the  advent  of technology  standards to be put  in effect,
technology providers  will have to update/develop their systems for
compliance to the set government  standards. Given  the  scenario,
 LGUs can  use  this change in  the regulatory  environment as
leverage  to  the technology provider in effecting needed updates.

 Another option is to switch over to other compliant systems. The

LGU must demand from the vendors’ compliance with government
mandated standards, or else they lose their accounts.  In the IT
industry,  localizations such as  these may  or may not be
chargeable.  It is free  to those  clients who are current on their
maintenance and support agreement.  It is chargeable for those
who are not on maintenance. 
 Joint Inspection Team

 Are there standards/procedures for the

joint inspection team to follow?
 Answer:

 There are proper procedures to do inspection so as

not to disrupt business operations.  When inspecting,
the leader of the group should first approach the
owner or manager and inform the establishment of
their purpose in inspecting.  It should also be noted to
do inspection during the lax or dull hours of business
so management can attend to the questions of the
inspectors and customers would not be alarmed by
the presence of the team. The inspectors should also
wear clothes that are not alarming or frightening to
management and customers.
How can LGUs be motivated to undertake the
reforms? What are the advantages for the
LGUs to participate in the program? 
 Based on the experience of the LGUs which have
earlier reformed their BPLS, the benefits of BPLS
streamlining include: (1) improved revenue
generation; (2) reduced time and resources spent
by LGUs in the BPLS process; (3) more complete
information base on business enterprises in their
localities; (4) more informed policy and decision-
making; and (5) reduced graft and corruption; (6)
better image for the LGU in the area of good
governance.
How much would it cost the LGU
to undertake the BPLS
reforms? 
 Cost will depend on the design of the support
infrastructure for the streamlined process, e.g. IT
component, facility for business one stop shop,
etc. Cost benefit analysis has already been done
which shows that NPV of project outweighs the
cost even if the decision to register a business is
not motivated by the streamlined/simplified
process.  This means that any other enterprise
that decides to register because of the
streamlined/simplified process is already an extra
benefit to the local government.
  
Thank you for
listening!!!!