The Bacolod City government received business permit applications from around 1,100 new business establishments at the beginning of 2024.

Data as of yesterday showed that the number is part of the 18,839 business permit applications received in January alone by the Business Permits and Licensing Office through the Business-One-Stop Shop at the Ayala Malls Capitol Central.

Mayor Alfredo Benitez said in an interview that last month’s total was 11 percent higher than the 16,994 applications recorded in January 2023.

“As you can see, there is an influx of business establishments coming into the city. I hope that is because of the confidence in our business environment,” he added.

In January this year, the city government collected P467.201 million in business taxes, higher by 18.4 percent compared to the P394.627 million generated in January 2023.

“January 2023 was already a record month. It was beyond the 2019 pre-pandemic level. We are way ahead,” Benitez said.

The mayor reiterated the city government’s campaign to ensure that all business establishments comply with the required permit after the City Legal Office (CLO) discovered during a recent mapping operation in the downtown area that only 10 of the 67 businesses in three buildings have permits to operate.

Last week, the CLO also apprehended a person who produced fake business permits.

In an earlier executive order, Benitez reconstituted the joint inspection team to conduct a “comprehensive mapping of all businesses in the city and document all the procedures for effective data banking.”

The order also directed the joint inspection team to “monitor and implement adherence of businesses to regulatory requirements set by the city on business operations.” (PNA)