THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is opening up new business-name registration centers in Metro Manila to accommodate the expected flood of applications for the first quarter of the year, which is the traditional peak season.

Trade Assistant Secretary Angel L. Pelayo said the DTI is decentralizing the application for business names from the DTI-NCR office on Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati to different locations to facilitate faster processing and avoid long lines of people in  one area.

Pelayo said registrants can now go to Park ’n Ride Lawton in Manila (beside LRT 1 Central Station and Metropolitan Theater), Highway 54 Plaza in Mandaluyong City (across SM Megamall) and Trafalgar Plaza in Makati City.

To open this week is another satellite office in Caloocan located at the Araneta Square Mall.

“In setting up area and satellite offices across Metro Manila, more clients are served in a shorter span of time. Several clients have given feedback that this move eases the cost and effort of doing business,” Pelayo said.

Based on records, Pelayo said January to March are the peak months for the application of business names.

In the first quarter of 2007, for instance, Pelayo said the DTI-NCR served a total of 31,621 walk-in applicants, more than one-third of the 88,545 applicants for the whole of 2006.

January is the month when most business owners register and renew their business  names, like in January 2007 when there were 12,016 applicants. 

This, Pelayo said, is because in general, renewal of business permits and licenses in local government units is held during the first two weeks of January.

Also part of the preparations of DTI-NCR for this season is the enhancement of the existing satellite offices near city and municipal halls.

Pelayo said clients find it easier for them to go to the most accessible DTI-NCR offices in their location, instead of waiting for hours in one overcrowded registration center.

“Decentralizing the business-name registration is one of DTI-NCR’s efforts in contributing to the elimination of red tape in the bureaucracy. It brings the regional office closer to its clients because the centers are just right across strategic places. We are continuously adding more options for our entrepreneurs,” Pelayo said.

For the exact location, contact details and  schedule of DTI-NCR’s offices, Pelayo said the public can call 751-3330.

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THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) is currently reviewing its processes and has already designated its Regional Development Offices (RDOs) and Neda Regional Offices (NROs) to become the lead evaluator for region-based proposals.

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CEBU CITY—Officials from the Cebu City and Cebu provincial governments said Wednesday the stalled land-swap deal, which could affect 5,000 urban- poor families and some 50 hectares of prime commercial properties, could still push through if only Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia start talking again.

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is opening up new business-name registration centers in Metro Manila to accommodate the expected flood of applications for the first quarter of the year, which is the traditional peak season.

CLARK FREEPORT—The passenger volume at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here increased by 9.18 percent or by nearly 45,000 in 2007  over the 2006 figures, a development that further brightens the prospects of the Clark airport eventually becoming the country’s premier international gateway.

MUNTINLUPA City deleted from the process those agencies that merely note down business’ basic data, thus reducing its 14-step business permit renewal process to just six steps.