OBO sets up information system to ease building permit processing

CEBU, Philippines - In tune with the real estate boom and construction growth being enjoyed by the city, the Office of the Building Officials (OBO) in Cebu City keeps up with its innovation on processing building permits through a user-friendly information system that could both provide convenience to applicants and eliminate corruption in the said government agency.

The OBO Information System (OBOIS) of the Cebu City Government is a windows-based in-house developed information system operating on a client-server environment with fifteen attached workstations and   six printers.

The innovative system was conceptualized by OBO and was realized in coordination with Cebu City Management Information and Computer Services (MICS) that is supervised by OIC department head Conrado Ordesta III.

According to OBO assistant chief Florante Catalan, processing of building permits have become easier and more convenient for both the applicants and the office.

Before, he cited that it would take one to two months for the applicant to acquire the approval. With OBOIS, he proudly said that applications shall be approved within the 10 to 15 days from the day it was filed given that all required documents are submitted.

He noted that the project, which is considered to be the first in the Philippines, is aimed at eliminating graft and corruption in their office. OBO is reportedly one of the offices in the City Hall where people usually complain about the delays of the approval of their applications for building permit.

An applicant needs to come to OBO thrice to submit application, pay the required fees and claim the approved building permit.

Other concerns of the applicant could be addressed through the OBOIS short messaging system (SMS) facility in which he would know the status and deficiencies of his building permit application, relevant fees to pay and when the building permit will be released thru text.

“This is the solution against corruption and red tape. We want to provide convenience and transparency to those who come to our office for our services,” he said in an interview.

He shared that it took one year to build the system before it was tested for implementation in 2010. The Cebu City government allotted a budget of P1.3 million for the project.

He then expressed hope that the system which is conducive for both foreign and local applicants, will be duplicated and practiced in other local government units in the country, further highlighting the efficient service that the government could extend to the private sector.

Mayor Michael Rama lauded the computerized processes implemented by OBO as one of the city’s strategic solutions to minimize, if not, eradicate red tape, graft and corruption in the processing of building permits.

He added that it is a manifestation how information and communications technology (ICT) could serve as a very powerful tool in local governance.

“I am happy to know that we have a very comprehensive information system which our own IT employees developed,” he proudly stated.

OBOIS primarily features computerized assessments based on the New Building Code of 2005 and capability to trace the history of transaction and generate the collection slip per application.

It is also capable of encoding of all applications and providing the day to day billing and collections from building permit transactions.

It has an inbound-outbound tracking  feature  that traces the history of  building permit application from point of submission of the application up to the point of release of the approved building permit indicating the date, timestamp and name of processor and action done.

Last December 2012 report, 56.67 percent of the total number of applications for permits were reported to be accomplished while 16.67 percent were still on process.

Through its OBOIS project, the Cebu City Government won first prize during the First eGovernance Awards for Local Government in the Government to Business (G2B) Empowerment Category last November 22 to 23, 2012 in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The eGov Awards is conducted in honor of the late Department of Local Interior Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to recognize local government units utilizing ICT in the delivery of services.  It is divided into two categories namely the G2B Award and the G2C (Government to Customer Empowerment) Award.

Out of the 58 entries from all over the country in the preliminaries which were then trimmed down to 18 for two categories, Cebu City bagged a trophy of distinction and a check worth P100,000.

The OBOIS project was also presented during the 2013 ICT Cebu ICT and BPO Conference and Expo last June 4 to 5 at Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu in line with the celebration of this year’s Cebu Business Month. /JOB (FREEMAN)