Central Luzon BPLO Association Holds General Assembly

The Central Luzon Association of Business Permits and Licensing Officers (CLAB) held its first General Assembly on April 29, 2016 since its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in September last year.

CLAB was formed on December 10, 2014 and envisioned to be a dynamic organization of empowered BPLOs championing business-friendly and competitive LGUs. The association is responsible for recommending measures that will contribute to the improvement of the business registration process and facilitating the transfer of information and relevant updates to LGUs on national and regional BPLS projects.

The CLAB officers represent the provinces of Region 3 and are all elected as Presidents of their respective provincial BPLO associations. The General Assembly, which also coincided with the association’s first meeting for this year, saw the presence of newly-elected provincial BPLO Association heads from Bulacan and Tarlac.

Association officers tackled the issuance of a regional Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) in the Business Permits and Licensing System (BPLS) which was proposed in past meetings to clarify the implementation of Republic Act 9514 or the Fire Code of the Philippines and the DILG-DTI Joint Memorandum Circular 2010-01 which set standards for processing and issuance of business permits.

Both issuances have been subjected to scrutiny after the May 2015 fire incident in a slipper factory in Valenzuela City which led to more than 70 casualties.

Officers of the association also discussed activities lined up for the year, such as the conduct of a regional forum of BPLOs and seminars aimed to update the BPLOs and improve their services to the public.

The provincial BPLO associations representing each province of Central Luzon are: 1) Aurora Provincial BPLOs Association (APBA); 2) Licensing Officers of Bataan (LOB); 3) Liga ng mga Licensing Officers ng Bulakan, Inc. (LLOBI); 4) Association of Licensing Officers-Nueva Ecija (ALO-NE); 5) Pampanga Association of Business Licensing Officers (PABLO); 6) Tarlac Business Registration Officers’ Association (TABROA); and, 7) Business Licensing Officers of Olongapo and Zambales Association (BLOOZA).

CLAB is composed of President Joseph Garcia of the City of San Fernando; Interim Vice-President Martin Armando Cruz of Marilao, Bulacan (interim) and incoming VP Aida Bernardino of Malolos City; Secretary Rosemarie Reyes of Talavera, Nueva Ecija; Treasurer Neil Erwin Dizon of Balanga City; Board of Director Mary Jane Dumpit of Baler, Aurora; Board of Director Evelyn Roque of Capas, Tarlac; and, Board of Director Sandra Dee Ecalnir of Olongapo City. The association is supported by the Department of Trade and Industry-Region 3 (DTI-3) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Region 3 (DILG-3) on an advisory capacity.