• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod barangays have authorized the city government to issue barangay clearance and collect corresponding fees, pursuant to Republic Act 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Act of 2018.
The law, which aims to reduce red tape and expedite transactions in government, states that barangay clearance and permits related to doing business shall be applied, issued, and collected at the city/municipality level.
“There is a need to streamline/simplify the process of business registration in the City of Bacolod to provide a more efficient and effective revenue collection, and to promote a friendlier atmosphere for taxpayers and investors,” said Councilor Lady Gles Pallen, who authored the proposed enabling ordinance on the collection of corresponding barangay clearance fee.
The proposal was approved on first reading by the Sangguniang Panlungsod June 5.
Pallen, president of the Association of Barangay Captains in Bacolod, explained that the proposed ordinance shall apply only to the issuance of barangay clearance for business permit, and locational clearance for a building permit.
“Other clearances for other purposes shall still be obtained at the barangay,” she added.
The barangay clearance fee to be collected by the city shall depend on the concerned barangay revenue ordinance, and shall be remitted to the subject barangay “not later than seven working days of the ensuing month with the list of the issued building and business permit,” the proposed ordinance said.
The electronic signature of the punong barangay concern shall appear in all barangay clearance issued by the city, it added. | CGC
