DTI to establish assistance center for investors
It will be soon easier for interested investors in Western Visayas to secure requirements and other documents for their businesses with the proposed establishment of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (NERBAC) in the region.
NERBAC is now being pilot-tested in the cities of Cebu and Davao but Trade and Industry regional director Dominic Abad said they are looking forward to open the same center in Iloilo before the year ends.
Abad said the objective is to bring in all mandatory agencies under one center so that investors will no longer find difficulty in processing their documents.
NERBAC, he said, will be tied up with the Philippine Business Registry so that the processing of documents could be done simultaneously by different agencies.
"If you are a new investor, then probably in one week's time you can already complete your requirements," he said.
DTI has provided a space for the proposed center, which will be situated in the same building with the agency's regional office.
"We will have a soft launching first and we will make improvements later," he said.
In the meantime, Abad said they will also study how the center can make use of the present technology such as the computers and software programs in order that investors can secure other national requirements with the processing being done at the regional center.
"It's difficult because most of the forms and procedures are coming from their head offices. But we will try to see how we can make use of the present technology so that at least we can still comply with the national requirements we are already facilitating for the investors," he said. (PNA)