DTI-Cebu mulls another negosyo center in Minglanilla by next year

CEBU, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is now considering a Negosyo Center in the town of Minglanilla, southern part of Cebu by early next year, an official revealed.

DTI-Cebu Director Nelia Navarro said she had earlier brought the idea of putting up a Negosyo Center in the town to Minglanilla Mayor Elanito Peña. The mayor, she said, welcomes the idea.

Navarro said it is just fitting that Cebu's southern part will also have a Negosyo Center after the agency opened one last week in Bogo City, northern Cebu and another in the provincial office of DTI-Cebu.

"[The Minglanilla Negosyo Center] will be the first in the south," the official said, noting, however, that the location is still to be identified.

She noted that Minglanilla has the potential because of the increasing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the town and its new market which opened last year.

The trade official said she wants to see Minglanilla become a city in the future, urging the town mayor to really work on the income and population requirements for it to qualify for the cityhood.

Under the Local Government Code, a municipality may be converted into a component city if it only meets two of the three requirements: average of locally generated income of P100 million for last two consecutive years, land area of at least 100 square kilometers and population of not less than 150,000.

Moreover, the town of Argao in the south is also being eyed by the agency for the Negosyo Center.

Aside from Minglanilla and Argao, the Trade department is initially planning to put up four more centers in the northern part of Cebu in the next years.

It is considering northern towns of Sta. Fe, Daanbantayan, San Remigio and Tuburan as priority sites for the establishment of future Negosyo Centers, Navarro said.

The provincial director further said she also want to propose to convert the Cebu Investment and Promotions Center (CIPC) of the provincial government located at the Capitol into a Negosyo Center.

Republic Act 10644 or the Go Negosyo Act was signed into law in July last year, paving the way for the establishment of Negosyo Centers around the country to help boost the MSME sector which accounts for 99% of registered businesses in the country.

The Negosyo Center is designed to facilitate registration and monitoring and evaluation of business processes and give investment-related information and advisory services.

The DTI is targeting to build at least 100 Negosyo Centers by year's end, with the establishment of one in every city and municipality being its priority in the next few years.