Mayor John Dalipe early Thursday morning, January 11 spearheaded the groundbreaking rites for the P52M Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) building at Plaza del Pilar in Zone 4, a significant milestone achieved after 8 years of BOSS operations in Zamboanga City.

The 3-storey building will be constructed at the leftmost side (before the commercial stalls) of Plaza del Pilar and will have a floor area of more or less 478 square meters. It will be undertaken by a private contractor, AEJ Hardware Construction & Enterprises, under the supervision of the City Engineer’s Office (CEO).

Since the start of his administration, Mayor Dalipe, saw to it that the project is finally implemented, stressing his commitment to promoting a more business-friendly environment and in line with his thrust to bring about development and progress in Zamboanga City.

City Licensing Chief Benjie Barredo expressed elation that the project, conceptualized a few years ago, is finally materialized. “Finally.. after 8 years of BOSS in Paseo del Mar.”

The building’s ground floor and mezzanine will be used by all agencies involved in the BOSS operations while the third floor will be used by the CEO’s Building Permit and Occupancy Permit divisions.

With the mayor during groundbreaking rites were Vice Mayor Josephine Pareja, Councilors Jihan Edding, CJ Dalipe, Aida Paniorotan, Jimmy Villaflores, James Siason, Jerome Santos and Jordan Evangelista, City Licensing Officer Benjie Barredo and the contractor.

The Business One Stop Shop, the simplified procedure for acquiring business permits, has been operating at Paseo del Mar for the last 8 years, specifically from the first working day of January to Jan. 20, until last May 2023 when its operation started on a year-round basis.

Under the BOSS system, all agencies involved in business registration and renewal process are housed at Centro Latino for the convenience and comfort of business operators. These agencies are the City Treasurer’s Office, City Planning and Development Coordinator’s Office, City Engineer’s Office, City Health Office, City Veterinarian Office, City Administrator’s Office, Office of the City Environment and Natural Resources, City Agriculturist Office, City Tourism office, Bureau of Fire Protection and the City Licensing and Permits Division.

The system, aimed to provide a single location and a simplified and customer friendly transaction utilizes three steps: application, payment and release. (Sheila Covarrubias)