BAGUIO CITY – The City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) is now pilot testing the online application of business and occupancy permits to speed up the issuance of the said permits to building owners.
City Building Official Engr. Nazita F. Bañez said that applications forms for building and occupancy permits are now downloadable in the website of the city government and the electronic processing of building and occupancy permits is on an experimental basis to address the possible gaps that may arise.
The pilot testing of the electronic application of building and occupancy permits by the CBAO is in compliance to Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2018-01 of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to streamline the process in securing building permits and certificates of occupancy.
The local government department head stated that as of date, the monitoring system developed by the information technology division of the City Budget Office is being used for tracking applications quickly and accurately thereby saving time and effort of personnel in doing manual work.
“An electronic kiosk is now being designed to ensure the compliance of the office to the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007. This will definitely lessen the interaction of personnel and clients in their application for permits thus significantly reducing allegations of corruption, among other issues,” Engr. Bañez stressed.
The city building official also reported that the CBAO is now occupying its new building in barangay DPS compound built by the city government in the total amount of P28 million, thus, clients will have a wider space to transact business with the various divisions of the office in the processing of their concerns, especially in the processing of their building and occupancy permits.
The pilot testing of the electronic application is also in line with the city government’s efforts to embrace the use of information and communication technology in the delivery of basic services to the people of the city.
Initially, the city government computerised the issuance of business permits through the electronic business permits and licensing system that paved the way for the easier processing and issuance of business permits, the computation of real and business permit taxes and the conduct of sessions by the local legislative body, among other aspects of governance.
Mayor Domogan commended the CBAO for its initial success in the pilot testing of the electronic application of business and occupancy permits, saying that the faster processing and issuance of the desired permits from the concerned office will definitely help in improving the trust and confidence of the people in securing the required permits for the put up of their proposed structures in the different barangays.
By Dexter A. See