SBMA cracks-down on locator’s permits

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment Development Stefani Saño said in a statement Wednesday that the Authority, starting July 1, will strictly require businesses in the Subic Bay freeport to secure all the necessary permits before being allowed to operate rather than just requiring the Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption amid recent findings that some locators have begun operations even without complying with all the requirements.

 

Saño went on to say that this new system is not only beneficial to the government but it is also for the protection and interest of private businesses in the area.

 

“If you don’t have a permit to operate, you have no business operating in the Subic Bay Freeport,” Saño said.

 

Presently, new locators consider the Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption, or CRTE, as their permit to begin operations even if the CRTE makes no reference to other requirements such the environmental compliance certificate.

 

“The new board of directors saw this flaw, so we would have to change the system and stress compliance first before operation,” said Saño.

 

He went on to say that the SBMA had informed the freeport’s business community about the stricter requirements last May 31. — DVM, GMA News