BAGUIO CITY – The city government, through the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO), will implement the automated permit processing system (APPS) or online application for the issuance of building permits to lessen the possibility of close contacts between the applicants and CBAO personnel starting June this year.
CBAO officer-in-charge Arch. Johnny Degay said the locally-developed online application is part of the city government’s to put enforce physical distancing in government offices to possible infection from people’s physical presence in transaction areas which can cause the spread of the dreaded Corona Virus Disease (COVID) 2019.
Under the APPS, applicants for the issuance of building permits are mandated to file their applications, including the attachments of the same, online while the CBAO will take charge of the printing of their applications and subsequently processing the same.
Degay reported the CBAO will then notify the applicants once the building permit being applied for is available for issuance for them to affix their signatures to the permit and for the release of the same after payment of the required fees with the city.
The city building official stated the APPS will be applicable to applicants for issuance of building permits for simple, complex and highly complex structures in the city.
According to him, the APPS will be implemented by June once the system shall have been installed at the CBAO to allow applicants to use the same to prevent them and the personnel of the department from being exposed to the possibility of contracting the deadly virus and spreading the same.
He appealed to applicants for the issuance of building permits to use this on-line application to save them from lining up in the CBAO to file their applications and to allow the said department to comply with the policy on physical distancing.
Earlier, the city government reduced the period in the release of applied building permits for simple structures from 5 to 7 days, permits complex structures from 20 to 22 days and permits for highly complex structures from 30 to 32 days.
CBAO is the department of the city government in charge of the implementation of horizontal projects and the issuance of building permits pursuant to the provisions of Presidential Decree 1096 or the National Building Code of the Philippines.
Degay stated that applicants for issuance of building permits should await the notification from the CBAO once their applications shall have been completely processed before following-up online from the said office to minimize the presence of individuals in the government offices.
By Dexter A. See
