Subic Bay Freeport – The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has recently established the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) lane, a special lane dedicated to the batch processing of identification cards for employees and workers here.
SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment Renato Lee III, who recently inspected the agency’s frontline services on May 30 with the SBMA Anti-Red Tape Unit members, also visited the SBMA-Office Services Department (OSD)’s Pass Issuance and Control Division (PICD).
To facilitate the efficient processing of SBMA IDs for companies with a large number of employees, the PICD institutionalized batch processing through non-appearance processing for 20 or more applicants or off-site processing for 100 or more applicants.
“It only takes 24 minutes per application for both non-appearance processing and off-site processing. Last year, the OSD-PICD was able to process 5,273 applications from various SBF companies through off-site ID processing, and 2,948 applications as of May 2025,” Lee said.
“While processing individual applications at the OSD is generally straightforward, the overall processing and waiting tend to increase when applicants come in groups,” he added.
Aside from the OSD-PICD, Lee also inspected the Motor Vehicle Registration Office, the Telecommunications Department, the Ecology Department, the Building Permit Department, the Visa Processing Office, the Business Group’s Logistics Department, the Manufacturing and Maritime Department, the Leisure Department, and the Tourism Department.
The Anti-Red Tape Unit inspection was accompanied by stakeholders, including the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC). It also coincided with EODB month as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s declared May as the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Month.
This year’s theme is “From Red Tape to Red Carpet: Better Business Movement in a Bagong Pilipinas” which promotes the government’s collective efforts in fostering a more conducive business environment that benefits every Filipino in the Bagong Pilipinas.