Manila, Philippines – by signing the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) particularly of all government agencies on Tuesday, August 30, the processing time for new business registrations was shortened down to 1 to 2 days.

According to the CNN reports, some of the Government agencies that sign the agreement was the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT), and the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).  The agreement is intended to reduce the time to process business permit and licenses of all cities and municipalities around the country.

The new system will require local government units (LGUs) to use a unified form both in print and electronic, with only two signatories with alternate approving signatories and without added cost for this.

During the press briefing last Tuesday, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez emphasized that they don’t want to make it difficult for entrepreneurs who wants to start to business that usually takes them weeks and months.  Under the streamlined licensing system, entrepreneurs will just present the requirements to the local government and the local government will take part of all the necessary clearances and payments including the barangay clearance and safety certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).