ILOILO City – The city government will open one more offsite payment center at the lower ground floor (in front of Our Home and Storyland) of SM City Iloilo today.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas initiated the digitized and convenient payment transactions in malls to further ease doing business in the metropolis.
The payment centers cater to renewal of business permits, assistance with the creation of Integrated Business Permits and Licensing System (iBPLS) account, assessment and payment for Real Property Tax (RPT), issuance of Community Tax Certificate or cedula, and other permit-related issuances including Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC), sanitary permit, tourism license, and boarding house and Internet and Gaming Center Anti-Piracy and Pornography (IGCAPP) permits.
Earlier, offsite facilities opened at The Atrium’s third floor, Megaworld Festive Walk Parade’s second floor, and Marymart Center’s second floor food court area.
“It is a good partnership with SM City. The offsite payment centers highlight the concept of public-private partnership; the public gives its services to its constituents, while the private sector also contributes, as SM provides a space free of rent, which only requires paying for the common use service area and electricity, which is a great help to the city government,” said Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion head Velma Lao.
“As of Jan. 3 to 20, some 4,000 were served in the malls; the payment centers and online systems are of great help as we are making things easier for the people who cannot go to city hall to process their papers,” she added.
The initiative aims to digitize transactions by creating a system that is connected to the database in city hall in order to provide more accessible and convenient services to support Iloilo City’s digital transformation into a smart city./PN
