The Pasig city government on Sunday launched a business one-stop shop (BOSS) in a bid to improve ease of doing business and simplify the process of business application and other transactions.
Mayor Vico Sotto led the ceremonial opening of the Pasig City BOSS at the Ayala Malls The 30th along Meralco Avenue, Barangay Ugong.
Sotto said the opening of the one-stop shop will decongest the crowding of people applying for businesses at the city hall.
“The establishment of the one-stop shop here, definitely is a step the right direction, not only the 30 percent of the businesses here in Pasig will have an easier time, but it could also — [but again] it could help decongest the city hall to make things faster,” he said.
Sotto said the Pasig City BOSS also aims to push for good governance and transparency of the local government.
“Isa pa sa tinitingnan natin sa one-stop shop (One the thing that we are eyeing is to clear up the local government, in line of our end-goal of making things very easy for the businesses here in Pasig,” he said.
“The local government is committed to really clearing that up not only in terms of the policies, the administration, in terms of the actual process, but I think it really has [to be] in terms of reducing or eventually eliminating corruption on our local government,” he added.
Sotto said while some businesses are not having a hard time complying with business requirements, they are having difficulty understanding the long procedure that they need to go through in applying for business permits.
Sometimes, it takes three weeks to several months to process business applications, he said.
“Our dream here for Pasig — and maybe our dream as Filipinos — is that one day would come, that a government official would be not just hesitant but ashamed to ask for a bribe but also to receive a bribe,” Sotto said.
“Kailangan ‘pag may nakita kayong mali, i-report po ninyo (You need to report it whenever you noticed something wrong),” he urged the public to inform the authorities to further eliminate the corruption in the city.
Sotto said some businessmen chose to remain silent about corruption since they are afraid that their businesses will take a hit.
“It’s not enough that only the local government will act for it, [while] we would do everything that we can, but we need help from every single person here,” he said.
Sotto urged the public not to tolerate corruption within the local government.
The Pasig City BOSS, he said, will be part of the city’s measures to eliminate bureaucratic red tape.
“Kung may nakikita ka man na dapat baguhin (If you see something that needs to be changed), I encourage every single of you here, to speak up,” he said, noting that if no one will report the corruptions in the city, it will never be addressed.
The Pasig BOSS is a step towards local government efficiency, he added.
“We have seen the changes, slowly but surely, we will continue this year in the city of Pasig. We will make ease of doing business here a better one and we will continue to reduce red tape.”
Sotto added that the business one-stop shop will promote healthier and resilient local economic activities in Pasig.
The BOSS program targets to simplify procedures for the issuance of local business licenses, clearances, permits, certifications, or authorizations.
It will also reduce the processing time to acquire the said issued documents. (PNA)
