CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Cebu City Council has approved an ordinance extending the validity of business permits to two years. 

Cebu City Councilor Raymond Garcia, an ally of Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella, authored the ordinance on third reading on Wednesday, December 11.

Business owners may start applying for the two-year permits beginning January 2020.


The longer permit validity – from one year to two years – is Labella’s campaign promise.

Making it easier to do business in the city was also a focus of Labella’s State of the City Address in October where he announced his initiatives to accomplish this.

In his first few months, Labella focused on streamlining both building and business permits through digitization. 

Financial aid for teachers

Labella said on Wednesday that public school teachers in the city will get P10,000 financial assistance this Christmas season.


And unlike previous years, this will not be deducted from their cost of living allowance (COLA), since it had been discontinued due to auditing issues.


Even if the COLA gets approved, Labella said the financial assistance is separate and will not be deducted against that allowance.

“This is only a small deal,” the mayor said in Cebuano.

“It is too premature to deduct P5,000 from the P10,000 [financial assistance]. It’s a big help for them this Christmas, that’s why I’ve given a directive to the city accountant to give them the amount in full without deductions.”

Labella said he would be sourcing the funds from the city’s general fund and not the special education fund.

The funds will be distributed on Friday, December 12, and Monday, December 16. – Rappler.com