Iloilo City Government opened its fourth and biggest off-site payment center at SM City Iloilo on Tuesday, February 14. Mayor Jerry P. Treñas led the blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony attended by SM top executives, government officials, business sector leaders and other stakeholders.
Treñas initiated the digitized and convenient payment transactions established at malls to further bring the ease of doing business in the metropolis to the next level.
“We open off-site centers in the malls for convenience of payment transactions, and to further bring the ease of doing business, and make services accessible and more efficient,” Treñas said.
The payment centers cater to renewal of business permits, assistance with the creation of Integrated Business Permits and Licensing System (iBPLS) account, assessment and payment for Real Property Tax (RPT), issuance of Community Tax Certificate or cedula, and other permit-related issuances including Fire Safety Inspection Certificate (FSIC), Sanitary Permit, Tourism License, Boarding House, and IGCAPP permits.
“These services will be very valuable to our shoppers and more so to our tenant-partners, majority of whom are micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) who have limited time and manpower to go far to be able to do their business transactions,” said Michelle Leslie K. Llanos, SM Supermalls Vice President for Mall Operations.
“Thank you to Iloilo City LGU for this valuable addition to SM City Iloilo. We look forward to more collaboration in the City of Love,” she added.
Other off-site facilities earlier opened at The Atrium’s third floor, Megaworld Festive Walk Parade Building’s second floor, and Marymart Center’s second floor food court area.
City Government continues to take initiatives to cater to the needs of the Ilonggos, bringing services accessible in malls to make transactions more efficient for the public.
“It is a good partnership with SM City because the off-site payment centers highlight the concept of public and private partnership; the public gives its services to its constituents, while the private sector also contributes, as SM provides a space free of rent, which only requires paying for the common use service area and electricity, which is a great help to the City Government,” Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Head Velma Lao said.
“As of January 3 to 20, some 4,000 were served in the malls; the payment centers and online systems are of great help as we are making things easier for the people who cannot go to City Hall to process their papers,” she added.
The initiative aims to digitize transactions by creating a system that is connected to the database in City Hall in order to provide more accessible and convenient services to support the metropolis’ digital transformation into a smart city. (Andrea Pearl Fernandez/Iloilo City PIO)
