CLAB Gears Up for the Implementation of the Revised BPLS Standards

The Central Luzon Association of BPLOs (CLAB) has started advocating to the region’s local government units for the implementation of the revised Business Permits and Licensing Systems (BPLS) standards, which is detailed under the DILG-DTI-DICT Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, Series of 2016 or the Revised Standards in Processing Business Permits and Licenses in All Cities and Municipalities.

CLAB was formed in 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 Business Permit and Licensing Officers (BPLO) associations.

In a meeting held on May 26, 2017, CLAB officers provided updates on their respective JMC 2016 provincial roll-out activities and the status of each province’s implementation. Out of the seven (7) provinces in Central Luzon, only two (2) have not yet conducted the roll-out. Also, some provinces, like Bulacan and Tarlac have reported 100% compliance to the revised standards. Monitoring for the rest of the LGUs’ implementation is ongoing.

The JMC 2016 or the revised BPLS standards was signed on August 30, 2016 and is targeted for 100% implementation and compliance by all cities and municipalities by the end of 2017. The revised standards require LGUs to further streamline the processing of business permits from 5 days to 2 days for new businesses and from 5 steps to 3. Aside from the previous standards for 1 day processing for renewals, 2 signatories for the approval of the business permit and use of a unified form, complementary reforms were also introduced in the circular. These reforms include automation of the BPLS thru the support of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) or other IT service providers, co-location of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in the LGU to reduce the number of steps, and establishment of a Business One-Stop Shop (BOSS), among others.

In another BPLS activity organized by the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Region 3 (DILG-3) on June 13, CLAB President Joseph Garcia and CLAB Secretary Rosemarie Reyes took note of the LGUs that were not yet compliant with the JMC 2016. The report was based on a survey conducted by DILG-3 for the 1st quarter of 2017 and covers all 130 LGUs of the region.

In the report presented, 127 are using the unified form for new business and 125 for renewal; 129 are compliant with the 2-signatory requirement; 117 are processing new business permits within 2 days while 120 are processing renewals within 1 day; and 114 have 3 or less steps in processing new business while 118 have 3 or less steps for renewal.

In the same activity, CLAB representatives, together with the DILG-3, DICT-3 and the Department of Trade and Industry-Region 3 (DTI-3) prepared an action plan that would address the bottlenecks and issues that might be experienced by the LGUs in complying with the revised BPLS standards. Among the activities identified in the plan are the creation of a Joint Regional BPLS TWG and the provision of training to BPLOs and DILG focal persons. Said activities are expected to be accomplished within the year to support Region 3’s 100% compliance to the revised standards.