Cebu chosen as one of two pilot areas for one-stop-shop facilitation center

Cebu will be one of the first two cities in the Philippines that will soon establish a one-stop-shop business facilitation center, or the National Economic Research and Business Action Center (Nerbac).

Cebu and Davao will be the pilot areas of this project that is implemented via Republic Act 7470, an all-in-one center that will house all concerned agencies in the government in processing all regulatory requirements in starting a business, investments information, and data bank in investment promotion, and investment generation within the entire region of Central Visayas.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7) regional director Asteria Caberte the NERBAC facility will be the answer to the long standing problem of bureaucracy in starting a business, and other concerns in starting a business, getting right information in investing in Cebu and other areas in the region.

The center, which is set to be operational in the next few weeks and will be launched by November, has three main functions, streamlining of business licensing procedures, the presence of Board of Investment (BOI) office, and the availability of knowledge management for business promotion.

In the new business licensing service, "we will come up with a system incorporating the national and local government's requirements in one place, so that business licensing or business registration process will be faster," Caberte said in an interview.

The Nerbac facility that will be managed by DTI-Cebu Province provincial director Nelia F. Navarro, will house representatives from PhilHealth, Social Security System (SSS), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and Local Government Units (LGUs). The entire BOI-Cebu operation will be transferred to the center, so that it can immediately service new businesses that are qualified for incentives.

The Nerbac facility will be located at the old Department of Tourism (DOT-7) office, right at the back of Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office in the downtown area.

The budget for the establishment of the center will come from the national appropriation, Caberte said.

In the Knowledge Management for Business Promotion component, the Center will work closely with investment promotion units within the region, not just in Cebu.

The DTI office, being the lead agency to operate the center, will also assist in developing pre-investment studies in different provinces in Central Visayas.