An initial 135 establishment owners have filed for the renewal of their permits since this province’s capital town opened its one-stop shop for business registration at the municipal hall on Jan. 5.

“All the 135 business owners came in order to renew their business registrations, while none registered a new business,” said San Jose de Buenavista Business Permit Licensing Officer (BPLO) Elsie Elizalde in an interview on Wednesday.

Elizalde also hoped that there would be new businesses that would register in the coming days since their one-stop shop is open until Jan. 20.

“We anticipate the bulk of business registrations by next week with the privately hired bookkeepers assisting the owners,” she said.

With the one-stop shop, the clients no longer have to hop from the Bureau of Fire Protection San Jose Municipal Station to the Rural Health Unit (RHU) for their sanitary permit and other offices to secure clearances.

Elizalde said that last year, 265 new establishments registered while 1,952 renewed their permits, resulting in a collection of PHP63.3 million from fees and taxes.

Elizalde assured business owners that the taxes they pay will be given back to them through improved services. (PNA)