Getting a mayor’s permit a.k.a business permit is also an easy process. However, what made the whole thing stressing for me was that I needed to travel something around 10 to 15 km from our place to the mayor’s office in Bacolor. And the sad part is, the whole processing procedure required me to take 5 trips to and fro… Seriously, I was on the verge of saying no already. I blame myself for not knowing that the place we rented was not within Angeles City. But, I do not want to chicken out at this time… I realized that this is just the first of many more hardships that any wannabe businessman will encounter. Giving up now is out of the question… not after everything we have been through.
Anyway, this is also the time when you will be acquiring your fire and sanitary permits. Basically, this is how it went through.
Day 1- I went to Bacolor Municipal Hall and filled up the forms. I also submitted copies of my DTI, Barangay cert, and contract of lease. I was asked to go to different offices- something like a clearance thing. I had a hard time in the engineer’s office. This lady engineer was asking me a copy of a building permit which was weird because we were just renting out a place- a residential unit that’s been in existence since the 1980′s and so I had to make a few calls to my land lady. Then, after like a whole afternoon of waiting, the engineer conceded and signed my paper- with a note: existing building.
Then I went to get my fire permit. They said that they need to visit the site first and also, I had to buy 2 10-gallon fire extinguishers. So, that means no signature yet. I also visited the Health unit for my certificate but they were not there. So I went home. I waited for a week for the Fire inspector to visit the site but nobody came. By the way, my Day 1 fees are roughly about 2,500 pesos…
Day 2: I tried to push my luck and went to Bacolor again to talk to the fire inspector. Of course, I was ready because I bought the fire extinguishers already. Anyway, when I arrived there, the Fire inspector said the he did visit the place and he says it is OK. When I showed him my receipts for the extinguishers he was disappointed. He said that I was supposed to buy in a ‘designated’ store to ensure the quality of my purchase. I said sorry and thankfully, he signed my papers.
I visited the Health unit and of course, not there again… However, I was wise enough to get the cell number now.
Day 3: After confirming the Health Inspector’s presence in the office, I went to Bacolor again. I talked to the health inspector and she gave me a list of requirements that I have to submit. She said, I should call her when everything is done so she can schedule a visit.
One of the requirements needed was a physical and chemical analysis of our water. I went to Angeles City Water District and found out that this test costs 3,000 ++ pesos. I was, of course, flabbergasted… the ACWD staff took pity on me and just advised me to go to the supplier of our water and get a test result there. So that is what I did…
So after everything was ready, I called the Sanitary Inspector and a schedule to visit was set.
She looked at my documents and the place. She said we needed a medicine cabinet and I said yes. She saw the physical and chemical analysis result and said that it cannot be. According to her, even if the source of our water is clean, we cannot be sure because our underground pipes and tubes might not be. So she still insisted on the 3,000++ test. With a sigh I said OK.
Day 4: I went to the Health unit with the receipt proving that I had our water tested. That was all that she needed… then she signed my paper and issued my permit. I compiled all my documents and proceeded to the mayor’s office. They gave me a number and said to call one or two days after to confirm my permit’s availability.
Day 5: Lo and behold I finally reached the finish line. Now I understand why business owners opt to have their permits framed.. after all I’ve been through, I feel that they surely are prized possessions…. Haaayyy…
