CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) in Northern Mindanao commended local government units (LGUs) for their compliance with the electronic Business One-Stop-Shop (eBOSS) during the fourth quarter Regional Development Council-10 Macro and Development Administration Committee meeting on November 8 at the Mallberry Suites, here.
“We look into the ability of the LGUs to see whether they can process business permits entirely online. This means that business registrants will have no need to go to the city or municipal hall to process their business permit,” said ARTA Supervising Administrative Officer Dominic Sanchez.
Republic Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, mandates all LGUs to establish an eBOSS system that aims to streamline and automate local government processes.
An LGU is considered fully compliant when it has established an online system to receive electronic business applications through a unified application form, can issue electronic tax bills, fire safety inspection certificates, and barangay clearance fees; is capable of issuing electronic versions of permits; and can accept other modes of payment aside from cash.
The eBOSS brings faster processes and would encourage business owners to pay taxes and formalize their businesses.
Dustein Sibug, a photographer and business owner in Cagayan de Oro City, said that processing permits now is “less hassle, wala nako ga-problema kay few clicks lang and done. No need na moadto pa sa city hall. Even if naa ko’y bookkeeper mag-atiman ana, ako nalang ga-renew, dali raman kaayo. Wala gyu’y rason ma-late sa renewal.”
(Less hassle; I no longer have problems renewing since it’s only a few clicks and it’s done. I no longer need to go to city hall. Even if I have a bookkeeper to handle that, I can renew it on my own, as it is a faster process. There is no reason to be late for the renewal.)
Sibug said he is satisfied with the city’s eBOSS and has been renewing his business permit and other transactions online for a good number of years now.
Another business owner, Alvin Bautista Cempron from Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, says the eBOSS “is hassle-free.”
Cempron, however, opted to physically renew his business requirements this year when the LGU’s system encountered a technical glitch during his transaction.
Cempron, who runs a printing business, is hopeful that he can transact online next year. He said, “Syempre, i-try gyud nako again kay naa ra ko sa balay, dili na ko makig-linya dadto sa municipal hall.”
(Of course, I would still try it since I am just at home; I don’t have to queue at the municipal hall.)
The eBOSS-compliant LGUs are Salay, Claveria, Naawan, Magsaysay, Lugait, Lagonglong, Jasaan, Tagoloan, Manticao, Laguindingan, Alubijid, Balingoan, Medina, Binuangan, Sugbongcogon, Villanueva, and Talisayan in Misamis Oriental.
This includes Aloran, Bonifacio, Clarin, Plaridel, and Sapang Dalaga in Misamis Occidental.
Manolo Fortich, Kibawe, Maramag, and Don Carlos in Bukidnon; Mahinog, Sagay, Catarman, Mambajao, and Guinsiliban in Camiguin; and the cities of Iligan, Cagayan de Oro, Malaybalay, Valencia, El Salvador, and Gingoog.
ARTA’s Sanchez asked the RDC-10, through a resolution, to recognize the efforts of these LGUs for being fully eBOSS-compliant pioneers in the region.
ARTA persists in bolstering its advocacy for the complete automation of eBOSS and other compliance measures, utilizing orientations and seminar-workshops to aid agencies or Local Government Units (LGUs) in revising their Citizens Charter. This charter serves as the foundation for all processes and services that government agencies provide to their clients.
ARTA also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber) and the Chamber of Commerce & Industry Foundation of Iligan, Inc. (Iligan Chamber of Commerce), designating both chambers as “ARTA Champions.”
“The chambers are empowered to serve as Ease of Doing Business watchdogs and even receive complaints from their ranks and endorse the same to ARTA for speedy action,” Sanchez said.
He is hopeful that the agency can partner with more organizations in 2025 and also reminds government agencies to continue championing ARTA compliance. (SAYU/PIA-10)
