The Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship under the chairmanship of Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, conducts a site visit to Valenzuela City Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), January 5. 

According to Mr. Davidson Torres, one of the committee staff, they have chosen the city to be among their subjects for their study, along with the cities of Quezon and Taguig, because these local government units are well-known for their good practices on ease of doing business. He mentioned in an interview, “Kasi kilala siya (Valenzuela City) as model city sa mabilis na processing ng business permits (The city is known as a model city in terms of fast business permit processing).”

According to a World Bank report in 2016, compared to other ASEAN neighbors in the “Ease in Starting a Business” rankings, the Philippines has performed poorly, placing 165^th in the ranking of 189 economies. The country lags behind Singapore in 1^st place, Malaysia in 14^th place, Thailand in 96^th place, Vietnam in 119^th place, and Laos in 153^rd place.

In Sen. Ralph G. Recto’s Senate Bill No. 866, he recognized on the explanatory note that “reducing barriers to business formalization can stimulate enterprise growth and create decent work opportunities.” Hence, his SB 866, otherwise known as the “Fast Business Permit Act,” shall provide for measures and policies that remove barriers to entrepreneurial opportunity and promote ease of doing business.

Torres expressed that his team satisfactorily gained a better understanding on how business permits are applied for and issued in Valenzuela City. The information obtained during their study tour shall be referred to by the Senate Committee for the drafting of their proposed measures (SBN 866 – Sen. Recto, PSR 23 – Aquino IV, and PSR 54 – Poe) related to the promotion of ease of doing business in the country.

Members of the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship joint with the Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation Technical Working Group (TWG) that work on “Ease of Doing Business” include Senators WIN Gatchalian, Sonny Trillanes IV, Chiz Escudero, Bam Aquino, Dick Gordon, Cynthia Villar, Loren Legarda, Grace Poe, Sonny Angara, Gringo Honasan II, and Manny Pacquiao. Ex-officio members are Senators Frank Drilon, Tito Sotto, and Ralph Recto.