BAGUIO CITY — Businesses are increasing and expanding in Baguio City per data monitoring of the city government’s Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO). For the first semester of the year, the BPLO noted an increase in the registered number of medium and large enterprises over the past seven years. As of June 2024, there are 546 medium-scale enterprises registered with the BPLO – an increase by 137 establishments compared to 409 in 2023. For the large-scale enterprises, there are 96 establishments registered as of June 2024 compared to 77 in 2023. BPLO head Allan Abayao said most of these establishments are engaged in Wholesale, Retail, Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles; Accommodation and Food Services; and, Real Estate Activities as the top three industries in the city for the first half of the year. Small enterprises are also increasing from 1,860 in 2023 to 2,049 this year. Only the micro enterprises decreased from 22,080 last year to 18,994 as of June 2024 but Abayao is hopeful that this will increase as the BPLO started its routine inspection of business without permits in the barangays to encourage entrepreneurs to register. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) classifies an enterprise based on assets and the number of employees. Micro are those with less than 10 employees, small for 10-99 employees, medium with 100-199 employees, and large if it has 200 or more employees. The BPLO issued a total of 21,685 business permits as of June 2024 with 1,525 new business registrations and 20,433 as renewal of licenses. Compared to the total 24,426 business permits issued last year, the BPLO needs to register at least 3,000 more enterprises to surpass its annual performance. Abayao said that applications for new business permits at the BPLO are processed within 20 minutes for renewal as long as necessary clearances such as fire safety and building clearance for safe occupancy from concerned offices and agencies are submitted. Businesses without permits are issued Notice of Closure by the BPLO. Over 500 closure orders were already issued as of May 2024. (By JM Samidan-Baguio PIO)

BAGUIO CITY — Mayor Benjamin Magalong assured that the city government continues to uphold public opinion as its benchmark in implementing its flagship projects. “We cannot discount the value of public opinion in shaping our programs and projects. Even during the pandemic we continue to conduct stakeholder engagements listening to the suggestions of our constituents and explaining the details of the proposals,” the mayor said. “In fact some of the critical suggestions became part of the plans and terms of negotiations. There were also those that were abandoned because we listened to public sentiment,” he added. The mayor also said that the city government does not rush things especially in critical projects. “We take our time and we make sure that every step is done in accordance with the requirements of the law,” he said. He cited the Smart Urban Mobility Project which was planned in 2021. A master plan was crafted in the same year and approved by the city council in 2022. Stakeholder engagements began in 2023 and are continuing to the present. The same with the Market Redevelopment Project which began in 2020. Consultations on said project started in 2021 and continue to this day. The mayor has always emphasized the importance of conducting consultations in implementing projects, especially those strategic ones under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. “This is to properly explain to the stakeholders and the public the intention of the projects, their concepts and dynamics. It is always best if people have an understanding of the projects before the PPP process takes off,” the mayor said. (By Aileen P. Refuerzo-Baguio PIO)

By Laarni S. Ilagan   BAGUIO CITY — Consumers will enjoy a lower rate of power this month. The reduction is due to the prompt payment discount the electric cooperative will enjoy for paying its bill to its power supplier, Limay Power Incorporated (LPI), ahead of the due date. For the July billing cycle, member consumer owners (MCOs) who will consume 100 kilowatt hour (kWh) will pay P88 less in generation charge. This means that the total rate for July will be P10.3333 per kwh which is lower compared to the P11.3951 per kwh in June for residential consumers. Their bill will be reduced by P1.0618 per kwh. Under its power supply contract with LPI, BENECO will enjoy a prompt payment discount (PPD) if it pays its previous bill 15 days ahead of time. “One reason for the reduction (in rate) is due to the application of the PPD that BENECO got from the LPI as incentive,” Fraiser Angayen, Non-Network Services Department (NNSD) manager, said.   LPI bills BENECO an average of P300 million monthly. The amount represents the generation charge component of the power bill that consumers pay every month and which BENECO remits to its power supplier. The reduction of the total rate can be attributed to the lower generation rate this month which is P5.8421 per kwh compared to P P6.8246 per kwh last month. The generation system eats up the bulk, from 60 to 65%, of all the items to be paid in unbundled bill. Angayen said that another factor that helped in the reduction of the generation charge is the order of the Energy Regulation Commission (ERC) that the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) component of the generation charge will be collected in four installments. Under ERC Order No. 2024-17 MC issued on June 13, 2024, all distribution utilities (DUs) will implement a staggered collection over a period of four months their WESM purchases from April 26 to May 25, 2024. All DUs are required to buy a certain percentage of their power supply from the trading market. BENECO will not thus collect from the consumers one time the cost of the power it bought from WESM for the period mentioned but will bill the same until October. Due to the volatility of prices at the WESM, Angayen cautioned MCOs to expect unstable generation rates that can spike their bills in the coming months. It could also go down, he said. Aside from residential consumers, the reduction will also be felt across all types of consumers – commercial (low and high voltage), industrial (low and high voltage), public buildings (low and high voltage), and streetlights.

BAGUIO CITY — This early, the political race for Baguio’s congressional race seems to be tightening up for two front-running contenders. Just two months back, Sol Go, better half of outgoing Representative Mark Go, appeared to be locking up the contested seat, an early favourite. But upcoming surprise contender Gladys Vergara has begun to move up in the latest online surveys for Baguio’s lone congressional district. Support for the eldest daughter of the well-esteemed Bernie Vergara has started to solidify early on, putting Gladys within striking distance of the front-running Sol. Mark Go, now in his final year of a 9-year tenure at the Batasan Pambansa, is said to be eyeing City Hall as its next mayoralty occupant. In a surprise strategic move, he is said to be fielding his wife, the amiable Sol Go, for his congressional seat. This move is now being seen as the start-off of a political dynasty in the making. Incumbent Mayor Benjamin Magalong currently leads the mayoralty survey with 65.97%, indicating strong support for his continued leadership. Gladys Vergara, the eldest daughter of 12-year Representative and one-term city mayor Bernardo Vergara, has now been inching up the ladder, after her father’s political leaders at the grassroots level have begun to flex muscles. Vergara, currently the chair of the Baguio Tourism Council, is expected to garner more support from the barangays, long a source of political strength of her father. Trailing far behind in the survey are long-time political figures Atty.Mauricio Domogan and Atty. Nicasio Aliping. Gladys Vergara has started to activate a substantial network of political allies and is reportedly readying a campaign machinery deeply entrenched in the local political landscape. Political analysts believe that the race will be closely contested, with Sol Go leveraging her helpful image as Mark Go’s wife and her involvement in various community events. On the other hand, Gladys Vergara is expected to draw on political favors from barangay leaders who have remained loyal to her family. In the vice-mayoral race, re-electionist Faustino Olowan Jr. is expected to have an easy win, largely due to his 6-year tenure as the second-in-command at City Hall. His challengers potentially include Councilor Mylen Yaranon and surprise contender Councilor Benny Bomogao as per political pundits. Additionally, fresh faces are emerging for the City Council. Atty. Paolo Salvosa, from the well-esteemed Salvosa clan of the University of the Cordilleras, and Van Dicang, the high-performing Punong Barangay of Lower Quirino Hill, are among those eyeing a council seat. As the political temperature continues its ascending climb, Baguio’s electorate eagerly watches the unfolding drama, ready to cast their votes and perhaps even some popcorn as they enjoy the spectacle of this lively political show. (PR)