New, improved system in Mandaue business permit renewal 

Mandaue City Hall

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Greeting business owners in Mandaue City this January as they undergo the process of permit and license renewal is a system which is simplified and provides practical solutions to previous bureaucratic barriers.

Beginning January 2, 2020, the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) of Mandaue began implementing a system that reduces a once 19-step procedure to three basic steps. This enables a business permit application to be issued in less than a day should there be no hitches in an applicant’s submission of required documents.

The system is now fully operational at the business permit One-Stop-Shop at the Mandaue City Sports Complex until January 20, 2020, from 8 a.m.  to 9 a.m. on Mondays to Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

The new business permit system is enacted by Ordinance No. 15-2019-1479, known as the “New Business Permit and Licensing System in Mandaue City.” It was approved by the Mandaue City Sangguniang Panglungsod on December 5, 2019.

Prior to the Christmas holidays, city officials led by Mayor Jonas Cortes, Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede, and BPLO chief Lawyer Lizer Malate discussed the details of the system in a meeting with officers and members of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and the Mandaue Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The key steps in business permit processing are: 1) application filing and verification, 2) one-time assessment and payment, and 3) claiming of the Mayor’s permit.

Under the First Step (Application Filing and Evaluation), the basic requirements for the renewal of permit are the duly accomplished application form, barangay clearance or city clearance, and lease contract. The basic requirements for a new application are the duly accomplished application form, locational clearance, barangay clearance of city clearance, DTI or SEC registration, and lease contract. In both instances, a proof of authorization is required if the one filing the application is not the owner.

In the Second Step (Assessment and Payment), the basis for computing is the annual / quarterly business tax payment based on gross sales receipts / income tax returns, etc.

In the Third Step (Issuance of Business Permit), the final submission shall be composed of the proof of payment of the business tax, the basic requirements (renewal or new), and the accomplished application form.

Even with the business permits issued, it is the businesses’ responsibility to comply with regulatory requirements from other government agencies and to secure regulatory clearances. A post audit of business applicants/registrants will determine compliance to all regulatory clearances, permits and necessary documents.

It is possible for a business to be in a Negative List of businesses that have outstanding “non-compliances” with statutory requirements. A business entity not included in the negative list during the business permit application shall be deemed to have a valid permits / clearances and shall be automatically renewed. 

However, business registrants or establishments that have outstanding “non-compliances” with statutory requirements imposed by regulatory offices will trigger the Mandaue BPLO to inform the establishment to act on the non- compliance findings. 

Registrants who fail to comply shall be subject to suspension, revocation, and closure, and if necessary, have the appropriate cases to be filed against them.

The improved system is a result of the city’s intensive study which included benchmarking of systems with various cities nationwide including Makati, Davao, Valenzuela, and Paranaque, among others./elb