LUBAO, Pampanga — Pampanga Mayors League president and Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab urged her fellow local chief executives in the province to comply with the directives of President Duterte to find ways to streamline the processing of business permits and other services in their respective municipalities.
Cayabyab issued a statement after the national convention of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) where Duterte prodded mayors from all over the country to shun corruption in public service.
Under the orders of the President, the Departments of Trade and Industry, Information and Communications Technology, and Interior and Local Government issued a Joint Memorandum Circular No. 01, Series of 2016 which revised standards in processing business permits and licenses in all cities and municipalities.
Cayabyab’s statement also came in time with the visit of an external monitoring team to evaluate the compliance of the Municipal Government of Lubao in implementing reforms to its business permits and licensing system (BPLS) at the town hall Wednesday.
Cayabyab said that mayors should not saddle permits applicants with unnecessary requirements and processes which will not only discourage investors but also create opportunities for corruption.
AWARD-WINNING
Lubao’s town hall is a consistent awardee in the streamlining of BPLS processes having won regional plum from the Central Luzon Growth Corridor Foundation Inc. (CLGCFI) last year.
In Wednesday’s validation and assessment conducted by representatives from the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Trade and Industry and the Provincial Investment and Promotion Office, Lubao was found compliant of the award’s four components.
The four components are: simplification and standardization of the BPLS; computerization of processes; improved customer relations; and, institutionalization of reforms.
Lubao, the external monitoring team said, has its own active internal monitoring team which has led to the constant adherence to the standard procedures in the issuance of permits.
The town hall is also using a computerized system to facilitate the processing of applications and in the process reducing bureaucratic red tape.
Citizens charter showing step-by-step processes and expected turnaround time are posted in conspicuous areas within the town hall to guide applicants on how to go about their transactions.
A “no lunchbreak” policy is also enforced on frontline offices where permits applicants are accommodated anytime within the designated office hours.
Mayor Cayabyab asked the external monitoring team to conduct workshops to help other towns to become compliant to all the components of the evaluation.
“This is not just for the award but for us to be efficient in providing services to the public. These people are going out of their way to comply with the law so we have to find ways to make them feel special in doing their transactions,” Cayabyab said. –Albert B. Lacanlale