GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The city government processed some 9,104 business permits during the annual renewal and registration of new businesses this month, surpassing its target for the period.
Geraldine Zamora, head of the Business Permits and Licensing Division (BPLD), said Thursday the figure was about 1,500 more than the total business permits processed and approved by the local government during the nearly three-week activity.
The City Treasurer’s Office and BPLD had targeted to process 7,000 to 8,000 business permits during the renewal and registration period this year.
“So far, so good. We did not only achieve our target but we even surpassed it,” she said in an interview over Brigada News here.
Zamora said they released a total of 8,625 business permits, comprising mostly of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as of January 20.
She said the remaining 479 have made the cutoff and paid the corresponding fees but need to submit some required documents.
Zamora attributed their accomplishment to the expanding economic activities in the city in the past several years.
She said the city’s business and investment scene remains vibrant as shown by the increasing number of commercial building projects and newly-opened businesses.
“It showed that our information campaigns have been very effective and more business owners are now aware that we are serious with our crackdown against unregistered businesses,” she said.
The city government seeks to generate at least PHP70 million during the renewal and registration period.
Businesses are still allowed to process their permits after the January 20 deadline but will incur corresponding penalties and surcharges.
