Muntinlupa cracks down on businesses over permit renewal

MANILA, Philippines - Muntinlupa City will stick to its Jan. 20 deadline for the renewal of business permits after Mayor Aldrin San Pedro became piqued over the low turnout since Jan. 2, an official said yesterday.

City public information chief Omar Acosta said it has been a “tradition” for city governments to extend the renewal date until Jan. 30 just to accommodate business owners.

He said they noticed that for the past years, most of the renewals would take place during the extension instead of the Jan. 2 to 20 period set by the law.

This year, San Pedro decided to stick to the deadline set by the law after less than 10 percent of the city’s 10,000 business establishment owners renewed their licenses and permits. From Jan. 2 to Jan. 10, less than 1,000 owners have renewed their permits, Acosta said.

Acosta said like other cities, Muntinlupa has put up a “one-stop” shop for renewals to make the renewal process easier for business owners.

“The city is incurring expenses because of this one-stop shop but instead of taking advantage, they choose to ignore it,” he said.

Acosta said those who failed to beat the deadline will have to pay a 25 percent penalty, plus one percent for each day the payment was delayed.