Manila:Cities and municipalities across the Philippines have been directed to set up dedicated Business Permits and Licensing Offices (BPLOs) and permanent licensing positions to streamline business transactions, attract investments, and enhance local economies, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced.
According to Philippines News Agency, the DILG emphasized that a dedicated BPLO acts as a centralized hub for issuing business permits, conducting establishment inspections, processing payments, and collecting local revenue, thereby assisting businesses in navigating government requirements more efficiently.
The directive, outlined in DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2026-055, aims to institutionalize business permitting and licensing services, acknowledging the business sector's crucial role in local revenue generation and economic development. The DILG urged local government units (LGUs) to formalize these offices and create permanent roles for qualified personnel.
As of June 2026, 1,174 cities and municipalities, representing 75.53 percent, have established BPLOs. However, only 360, or 23.47 percent, have created plantilla positions for business permit and licensing officers, highlighting the need to bolster LGUs' capabilities to deliver efficient and reliable services.
Under Republic Act No. 7160, or the Local Government Code of 1991, city and municipal governments can establish BPLOs and corresponding plantilla positions through ordinances passed by their respective Sanggunians, subject to available funds and regulations from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC). The initiative also supports Republic Act No. 11032, the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, and aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s agenda of streamlining government transactions and promoting local economic growth. The DILG highlighted that robust local business permitting systems are vital to fostering a business-friendly environment.
In a related development, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. has instructed police units to enhance intelligence-gathering and monitoring efforts against the proliferation of fake identification cards for persons with disabilities (PWDs). This action responds to a Department of Justice (DOJ) concern regarding the significant gap between the number of registered PWDs and those using PWD IDs to access benefits and privileges. The DOJ reports that only 2.8 million individuals are registered as PWDs while approximately 8.5 million are utilizing PWD IDs, resulting in a discrepancy of about 5.7 million. Nartatez expects police units, particularly the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), to investigate the illegal production and distribution of fake PWD IDs.
