(Photo from Parañaque PIO)
The Parañaque City government, through the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), conducted an observational site visit and welcomed delegates from the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) and the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) to discuss Project Express Lane Operation (ELO) as a model of good regulatory practices in the public sector.
The site visit was led by Mayor Eric Olivarez and BPLO Chief Atty. Melanie Soriano-Malaya on Wednesday, September 25.
It aims to discuss the implementation of Project ELO that can improve the business environment in the city.
“Our institutional partnership with DAP and APO provided us with insights and opportunities as we implement the project ELO to further improve the business environment in Parañaque City," Olivarez said.
Olivarez mentioned that the project ELO is the city's flagship program in response to the reforms mandated by Republic Act No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Law.
He said several iterations and innovative technological enhancements were introduced to upscale the service standards and quality in the business registration experience in the city.
The mayor also emphasized the salient features of the project ELO, including the online services following its recent launch of the Parañaque Electronic BPLO Online System and Services (Pque-EBOSS) last July 30.
According to him, Parañaque City is the first local government unit (LGU) to complete and comply with the EODB Law.
During the event, the Head of the Multidisciplinary Programs Division of APO, Dr. Jose Elvinia, introduced the participants from several APO countries and resource speakers from the United Kingdom and Malaysia.
"On behalf of DAP and APO, we express our appreciation and gratitude to the City of Parañaque led by Mayor Eric L. Olivarez for welcoming us in this observational site visit,” Elvinia said.
“We also commend your success in Project ELO as a model of good regulatory practice in the public sector,” Elvinia added.
Meanwhile, Soriano-Malaya presented the journey of Project ELO since it was launched in 2018.
She underscored the collaborative approach undertaken by several departments and offices in realizing the objectives and performance indicators of the project.
"We empower not only the business sector but also adopt [the] whole of local government approach and practices to increase productivity and efficiency in our core processes as delivered by the Project ELO," Soriano-Malaya stated.
She said at the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the city was recognized as one of the recipients of the Government Best Practices Recognition (GBPR) Award by the DAP Center of Excellence for Public Sector in 2020.