The yearly pilgrimage

January is that time of year when the businessmen, from the country's top corporations down to the small sari-sari and market stall vendors, do their annual "pilgrimage" to City Hall to renew their business permits. As I'm no exception, I took off from my Cebu assignment one day earlier than usual to do my papers.

I've been doing this for the past several years. The prospect of having to go through the grind sounds to be not my idea of fun.

You'll spend at least two days enduring long lines, filling out forms, and pay and pay and pay.

There has to be an easier way of doing this. The One-Stop Shop is a great idea. You have all the signatories in one place and all you'll have to do is just move from table to table. But still, I find that there are too many signatories. Of course, all those questions are gone the moment I get my approved Mayor's Permit. But still, I keep thinking, there has to be an easier way.

The City Engineer's Office did something I found good. They started inspecting business establishments last year. That way, the businessman only has to pay the fees and get the approved certificate in a matter of minutes. On second thought, the City Engineer's Office should have gone around with the Fire Department, another office that inspects buildings. The CEO had certified these past several years that the electrical installations in the businesses they inspected were in good condition. On the other hand, the Fire Department usually said that previous fires which hit Dumaguete businesses were due to "faulty electrical wiring." Which is which?

I find some steps in the Mayor's Permit unnecessary. One is the requirement for notarization. What is this for? If a piece of paper becomes a public document after notarization, most, if not all businesses, would be guilty of falsification of public documents, particularly when it comes to their income statement for the last year. But no one ever got sued for it.

But still, I find that the whole process becomes easier if I psyche myself up to be less irritable, more patient and more cooperative. It would also help if one brings along his or her sense of humor.

Wasn't it Shakespeare who said that the two things man couldn't escape are death and taxes? Well, I guess he wasn't around yet before they thought of the Mayor's Permit.*

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