The city government issued closure orders to 544 businesses from Jan. 1 to May 15 for operating without permits.
Records from the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) showed most of these establishments were discovered during routine inspections and from public complaints.
The BPLO issued 20,375 business permits for the first four months of the year and continues to receive applications and renewal documents with high hopes that it will surpass last year’s accomplishment at 24,426 permits issued.
Of the 20,375 businesses with permits, 19,522 were renewed while 853 were newly registered.
Most of the registered businesses in the city are involved in wholesale and retail trade followed by accommodation and food services.
As to the scale of the establishments, 17,825 or majority are micro-enterprises; 1,933 are small scale; 524 are medium enterprises and 93 large scale businesses.
The city government is positive that business permit application will increase with the mainstreaming of the electronic business permit application system through its official portal ebpls.baguio.gov.ph.
The online application system is in compliance with the Ease of Doing Business law and the Anti-Red Tape Act, particularly on Electronic Business One-Stop-Shop. – Jessa Mardy Samidan
