MikeLigalig.com

By: Rey Anthony Chiu

Other than its Business One-Stop-Shop (BOSS) attaining a record P1.4B new investment in 2011, Bohol still keeps two more aces in getting its people the needed economic uplift-ment.

According to Bohol Trade and Industry Specialist Blair Panong, besides the BOSS showing an efficient business enabling environment, the Business Permits and Licensing System (BPLS) and its Electronic Tax Revenue Assessment and Collection System, also accounted to record increases in new investments here, which may indicate brighter future for Boholanos.

At the Kapihan sa PIA, Panong also stressed that Bohol’s “exceeding the expectations” in its P1.6 billion investments to date, (including the new investments in the first two months of the first quarter) can only mean that a trickle down effect to decrease the poor and the jobless in Bohol could not be far behind.

Records from the BOSS showed that while the office gathers investment data, it shows minimum capitalization average of P3,000 for micro-business and P200 million for medium enterprise in 2011.

“Even then, each of these would demand workers, which could significantly cut Bohol’s unemployed,” he said.

“And by receiving pay, their purchasing power improves, and the economy ultimately rises with it,” he adds.

“All of this for streamlining the business processes and showing that the government is serious in generating funds for its service delivery,” Panong said.

“Beyond the relative ease in starting business at the BOSS, a parallel BPLS is being set in 26 out of 47 towns,” pointed Governor Edgar Chatto, during his last week’s State of the Province Address.

The BPLS is a government led intervention for responding to the high cost of making business in the country on account of bureaucratic red-tape.

Seeing this as a constraint to competitiveness, a move to standardize the processes in acquiring business permits was pushed to significantly cut time and nip on corruption by reducing the number of signatories and potential grease money needed.

“Bohol targets getting the BPLS adopted in the remaining 21 more towns,” according to Chatto.

Sources said breaching the P2 Billion new investments mark in 2012 could not be as far-fetched for Bohol.

On the other hand, Boholanos believe the Enhanced Tax Revenue Assessment and Collection System (eTRACS) could hand in more impressive revenue generation records this year.

Implemented through the partnership of the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO), Provincial Assessor’s Office (PAssO) and the Bohol Information and Communications Technology Unit (BICTU) under the Office of the Governor, the eTRACS in pilot towns resulted in increases in municipal revenues, at an average of 32% among all pilot municipalities, and even as high as 59% in some cases, Chatto shared last week.

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