Belmonte: Don’t transact with fixers

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has warned fixers who offer appointment slots for securing business permits at city hall.

Belmonte issued the warning after the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD) discovered that thousands of appointment slots were secured by around 10 people only.

“Our appointment system for business permits is free. Please do not transact with fixers who promise to make the process easier for you. Our system is easy enough, you just have to log in to the QC e-services website,” Belmonte said.

“We will not let opportunists interfere with our online services, which do not only provide an efficient option but also safeguard the transacting public from the coronavirus,” she added.

According to Belmonte, the probe conducted by the BPLD showed that a group of individuals used at least 10 e-mail addresses to secure around 1,000 appointment slots each until the end of May.

The scheme left other legitimate business owners without available appointment slots.

BPLD chief Margarita Santos said they added a security feature in their website to help detect if multiple slots have been secured by a single e-mail address.

The BPLD also improved its website interface to make the navigation simpler and easier for users.

“We will be rebooting our system by March 1. The system will allow the use of an e-mail address once at a time. If the user of the e-mail address fails to show up on the date of the appointment thrice, then that e-mail address will be blocked,” Santos said.

She added the city government would roll out free delivery and issuance of temporary electronic copies of business permits.