The Davao City Business Bureau reported a high number of applications and renewal of mayor’s permits this year.
Ms. Maribel Paguican, Head of the Business Bureau, said in an interview with the Madayaw Program over the city-owned Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on Tuesday that during the renewal period from January 2 to February 5, the agency has surpassed its 2023 performance by 3.86 percent.
“For the past 25 days covering January 2 to February 5, nakaprocess og applications nga 44, 576. If we compare that sa atoang performance last year, January 3 to January 31, 2023, covering 26 days, nilampas ta og 1,722 [For the past 25 days from January 2 to February 5, we have processed a total of 44, 576 mayor’s permit applications. If we compare this with our performance last year from January 3 to January 31, 2023 (for 26 days), we have surpassed our record by 1,722 applications],” she said.
Out of the 44, 576, only 186 applicants were unable to pay within the period set by the business bureau. According to Paguican, this is the smallest record they have of applicants who were unable to pay during the deadline.
Paguican said that the minimal number of clients who were unable to pay is a good indication of the success of their information dissemination regarding the penalties imposed on the late renewal of mayor’s permit.
She clarified though that mayor’s permit registration is a year-round activity of the City Business Bureau. The office will still cater to the renewal of mayor’s permits until the end of the year. However, the business owner must pay a surcharge of 25 percent for late registration.
“Atoa lang ipasabot nga ang gitagaan og deadline kay ang payment without penalty. We will cater towards the end of the year maskin sa last day if they really want to renew kay ato nang ginacater. Ako nga ginapaabot nga wala pa nahuman ang atoang operations, it’s a year-round operation kaya lang naa na ta’y maimpose nga penalty sa ilaha for late filing of renewal [We would like to remind the public that we only imposed a deadline for the payment without penalty. We will still cater to (registrations) towards the end of the year, even on the last day, if they want to renew their business, we will cater to them. I am informing Dabawenyos that our operations are ongoing; it’s a year-round operation except that we will be imposing a penalty for late filing of renewal],” Paguican explained.
Out of the 46, 016 issued permits in 2023, 1,111 have yet to either file a renewal or retire their permits. Paguican said that based on their record, 326 have filed for retirement of business operations.
Meanwhile, late filing of retirement for business operations has a penalty ranging from Php 1000 to Php 5000. The City Treasurer’s Office will be the one conducting the ocular inspection, as well as the identification of the amount of penalty that the late registrant must pay.
The City Business Bureau is extending its gratitude to business owners for their cooperation in processing their mayor’s permits. Paguican also said that there is no deadline imposed on the printing of mayor’s permits. However, business owners are urged to process the printing of permits and have them posted in their establishments before the inspection in March. Further transactions in claiming or printing of permits can also be done online. CIO
