Paranaque proves to be business-friendly city

The Parañaque City Government under the administration of Mayor Florencio Bernabe, Jr. posted a record high in business registration in 2011.

In a report to the local chief executive, Parañaque Business Permits & Licensing Office (B.P.L.O.) Chief Erlinda Rodriguez said that the number of new establishments in the city increased by 33% or from 585 in the 1st Quarter of 2010 to 809 in the same period this year while business renewal also grew by 15% or from 10,365 to 11,872.

More and more companies are relocating to Parañaque because if its business-friendly policies and legislations including Ordinance No. 014 of 2007 creating a Special Investment District in the entire land area west of Roxas Boulevard and the Coastal Road in Parañaque and providing incentives for business locators there.

Other business and citizen-friendly programs implemented in recent years include the Tax amnesty on real property taxes in 2004 and 2010.

The other reasons for opening up businesses in the city include the following:

a)Parañaque as a best manpower source. The city government’s Parañaque Livelihood Resource Management Office (PLRMO) offers courses in priority skills needed by industries in its TESDA accredited Parañaque Skills Training Center. Apart from skills training, students undergo values education;

b)Accessibility to marketing destinations and shipping points via the three parallel roads, Coastal Road-Roxas Blvd; Quirino Avenue; and Dr. A Santos Avenue leading to the domestic and international airports and the North and South Harbors; and

c) Parañaque‘s rich business potentials typified by residents’ loyalty to Parañaque-based company and locally made products.

Other “come-ons” include Parañaque’s Anti-Red Tape campaign that serves as check against fixers; computerized system that facilitates processing and ensures accuracy of computations; networking among support and line departments like the Treasurer’s Office, BPLO, EDP Division and Planning Office for a “one-stop shop”; and free snacks at the fully air-conditioned service lounges.

“We are pleased that business circles appreciate our city’s great potentials for growth and consider Parañaque as a superb venue for commerce and industry, likewise residence, a prime habitat city and an investors’ haven of the Metro South.”, Mayor Bernabe said.

Four years ago, Parañaque City made another milestone after it was named in the list of top cities in the country in a study made by the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center.

Grouped with Metro cities in the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project (PCCRP) 2007, Parañaque placed 6th, together with Lapu-Lapu City in the survey following Davao City, Quezon City, Makati City, City of Manila and Marikina City.

Analysts were quick to note that it was Parañaque’s debut in the project yet it was able to keep pace with the leading cities which have been in it since the survey’s early editions.

The rating was based on PCCRP “competitiveness drivers” namely: 1) Cost of doing business; 2) Dynamism of local economy; 3) Human resource and training; 4) Inrastructure; 5) LGU responsiveness; and 6) Quality of life.