The local government of Quezon city warns its residents against fixers selling or reserving appointment slots for business permit processing on Wednesday.
"Wala pong bayad ang appointment system para sa inyong business permit. Please do not transact with fixers who promise to make the process easier for you. Our system is already easy enough, you just have to log in to our QC E-Services Website," Mayor Belmonte said.
The warning was issued by Mayor Belmonte after the QC Business Permits and Licensing Department (BPLD) found out that thousands of appointment slots were reserved by at least 10 individuals.
"We will not let opportunists interfere with our online services which do not only provide an efficient option but it also safeguards our transacting public from the coronavirus," she said.
The investigation led by the BPLD discovered that there was a group of individuals who have secured 1,000 appointment slots each and spread until the end of May using at least 10 email addresses leaving no chance for other business owners to reserve a slot.
According to BPLD Chief Margarita Santos, they have improved its website interface to make it simpler and easier for its users.
"We will be rebooting our system by March 1. By then, our system will allow the use of an email address only once at a time. And if the user of the said email address failed to show up on his/her date of appointment thrice, then that email address will be blocked," Santos said.
BPLD also added a security feature on their website to detect if multiple slots have been secured by a single email address.
Santos also said that business owners who are not able to get an in-person appointment but will be claiming processed business permits are encouraged to have the document delivered by a courier.
“We advise that they book a courier service of their choice and have their permits picked-up from our office. This will definitely cost them much less than paying and buying appointment slots from fixers," Santos said.