Moneylenders urged to acquire business permits

CEBU, Philippines - The Provincial Board of Cebu wants all informal moneylenders to apply for business permits.

The resolution, sponsored by board members Miguel Antonio Magpale and Jude Thaddeus Sybico, urges all component cities and municipalities in the Province of Cebu to impose said requirement to all informal moneylenders operating in their jurisdictions.

The lawmakers said the local government units will be able to more effectively determine the persons engaged in informal moneylending business in their respective jurisdictions, since agencies of the national government have failed in regulating and taxing the informal moneylending markets.

The Department of Finance recently lauded various cities and municipalities in the Province of Cebu for their improved collections of locally sourced income.

Report said steady increase of local income particularly from tax and non-tax revenues indicates self-sufficiency and decreasing dependence on the Internal Revenue Allotment and other shares from the national tax collection.

“The Province should not rest on its laurels; it must strive for increased self-sufficiency and sustainability where locally sourced income is concerned,” the resolution states.

Magpale and Sybico cited that informal moneylending  market in the province represents “a vast and untapped potential worth millions of pesos for increased revenue generation.”  —/BAL (FREEMAN)