THE OFFICE of the Ombudsman most recently stamped the Business License and Permit Division (BPLD) of the City of San Fernando with its Level II Blue Certification, making it the first city in Luzon to have been given such distinction.
The Blue Certification Program was established “to thoroughly assess local government units’ efficiency in performing business licensing processes and procedures, with an aim to reduce the burden of red tape in doing business.”
It was in August that the city government passed the required compliance rating, a prerequisite to acquire a Level II compliance, the highest level of certification ever reached by an LGU in the history of the Blue Certification Program.
The standards by which the BPLD was measured – and excelled in – included application form, requirements, procedure, IT-enabled system, citizen’s charter, customer convenience, anti-fixing mechanism, business permit, and continuous improvement.
“We have once more proven the ease of doing business in San Fernando. This is a shared success with the whole Fernandino people and with all the business enthusiasts who have been considering the city as a fine business destination,” hailed Mayor Edwin Santiago.
Four days after the Ombudsman’s bill of excellence to the BLPD, it was the turn of the city’s Human Resource Management Office to be recognized by the Civil Service Commission for “HRM excellence,” the first office in the whole of Pampanga to be cited as such.
This makes all four HR systems of the CHRMO Level II-Accredited by the CSC, including recruitment, selection, and placement, learning and development, performance management, and rewards and recognition.
The accreditation is under CSC’s Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM), which goal is to develop government agencies’ HR management competencies, systems, and practices.
Enthused Mayor Santiago: “We give importance to human resource management because in the city, we still consider them as the ‘greatest of all resources.’ May kakayahan tayong mabigyan ng magandang serbisyo ang mga Fernandinos dahil hinuhulma nating maigi ang mga empleyado sa siyudad.”
Bask in the glow of these recognitions, Santiago has all the right to do. But the greater thing for him is to see to it that his governance of the city is truly deserving of these.
