Getting the Occupational Permit for Call Center Agents in Quezon City
If you are a call center agent, and your office is in Quezon City, you’ve probably heard of Ordinance numbers SP-91 S-1993, SP-1080,S-2001 and SP-1148,S-2002. These are the ordinances passed (some are amendments to existing laws) requiring workers employed in offices within the city to secure an occupational permit.
This morning, I trooped to the Quezon City Hall. I’ve been working in a company in Eastwood City in Libis for almost four years now, and this is the only time that we were ordered to secure the permit. According to the HR, it was only last January that call center employees were included in the list of occupation that require the permit. We were given a November 20 deadline. Our HR said that it will only take one day to process the document. It is not true.
Here are the steps.
1. Make sure that you already have a cedula and a police or NBI clearance. Cedula can be acquired anywhere. Supposedly, the cost of acquiring the community tax certificate depends on your annual income. P 1 = every P 1, 000 of your annual income, e.g. you ought to pay P 220 if your annual income is P 220, 000. But of course, you can not declare your income by saying that you are jobless, etc. The police clearance can be obtained from the nearest police station. In my case, I live in Baras in Rizal. I know the policeman who processes the clearance there so it was actually me who typed my information in the computer. Renewal of the NBI clearance will better be done in Park Square near Landmark in Makati. My officemate says it took him only three minutes to have his clearance renewed. Compare that in the NBI satellite office in Megamall where the queue is up to the third floor.
2. Go to the Business Process and Licensing Office of the city hall. If you are coming from the front of the city hall itself, you need to pass through a guard and the comfort rooms. Turn left and you will see some windows. That’s BPLO. If you’re coming from the Lung Center side of the city hall, you will pass Landbank. Present the cedula and police/NBI clearance to the one manning Table 1 (or 2). The employee will give you an assessment form – P 75 for the mayor’s permit and P 20 for the picture.
3. Proceed to the next table. They will give you an assessment form for the health certificate. Here’s the breakdown: P 50 for the laboratory test of your stool and sputum samples, P 50 for the HIV/AIDS seminar and P 94 for the medical certificate.
4. Pay for the assessment forms in the next table (Treasurer’s Office). Prepare the exact amount of P 289. The employee will give you two receipts.
5. Present the cedula, police/NBI clearance, and the two receipts to Table 1 (or 2) for stapling. The employee will give you a short form asking for your name, occupation and civil status. Go to Window 11 for picture taking.
6. Wait for your name to be called. Place your thumbmarks. You will be given your occupational permit.
The whole process will take less than 30 minutes.
Obviously, this is another money-making scheme, aka income-generating activity of the city government, which, very timely, coincides with the election season. Other agents and supervisors also complain about this new requirement. But if you’ll come to think of it, this is just because of the hassle of going to the city hall. If, for example, this was handled by HR or any other department by your company, I don’t think anybody will complain as long as the employees were notified that P 289 will be deducted from their salary.
According to our HR, they asked the head of BPLO if it’s possible for the government office to go to our office instead. BPLO declined. This, for me, is so impractical because the government should be reaching out to the private sector. What if they setup a satellite office in Eastwood City every January and June? They could put a one-stop shop for the cedula, police/NBI clearances and payment for the certificates.
I don’t believe that the reason employees are required to go to city hall is because they need to have their pictures taken using only the camera in BPLO. I noticed after having my picture taken earlier, I saw their computer screen where there are two options for the picture – using their camera or “Open Picture.” Does Open Picture means that BPLO has the option to just scan a picture given to them instead of the picture being taken? Or maybe the photo portion in the permit will be blank so that the employee could put their pictures on it. I have a reason to believe that it is the case. You cannot expect company executives to line up – they have their secretaries to do that.
Be prepared to have conflicting statements from the government employees themselves. My friend was told by the employee that she needs to undergo a medical exam and HIV/AIDS seminar. Not true. Even if you check the big blue tarpaulin in BPLO detailing the process of securing the occupational permit, a medical procedure is not required. There was even a list of supposedly accredited clinics were applicants could get the health certificate. Not true. Well, I don’t even think that the city government cares about our health. As long as we pay, they’re okay even if there was no health certificate. Aside from the fact that we have our own HMO, or health maintenance organization. This is just fine with me because it reduces the hassle of applying for the permit.
Oh well, that’s life.
AirRetail said
am November 2 2009 @ 11:51 pm
nice one herb! gotta get my permit before the deadline! love the adrenaline rush of the last hour syndrome!
aa said
am November 4 2009 @ 11:43 pm
i just want to say that (and i am sorry for using your blog to rant):
THIS IS TOTAL BULLSHIT!
i mean, come on.. why do we have to do this? why do we have to pay? why do we have to waste our time with this na alam naman natin sa bulok na gobyerno ng QC lang mapupunta yung pera?!?!?!
like you bro, i work in a callcenter in QC.. they are also asking for this “occupational permit”..
I have friends sa callcenters dito sa QC (who wouldnt after callcenter hopping for 4 years?) some of the companies DO NOT require their employees to waste time getting this bulshit occupational permit… while (malas ko) my company does.
my two cents:
1. sa dami ng business at call center sa QC.. kapal ng mukha nila (ng gobyerno) na mang harass pa. is it bec election is near kaya need ng pera ng QC for campaign?
2. its great to know that my company did not pay up to those crooks (yung nag panggap na QC emp/rep) BUT does it mean you guys have to pass it on to us employees? why not alert the president or something?
aa said
am November 4 2009 @ 11:50 pm
i just want to say that (and i am sorry for using your blog to rant):
THIS IS TOTAL BULLSHIT!
i mean, come on.. why do we have to do this? why do we have to pay? why do we have to waste our time with this na alam naman natin sa bulok na gobyerno ng QC lang mapupunta yung pera?!?!?!
like you bro, i work in a callcenter in QC.. they are also asking for this “occupational permit”..
I have friends sa callcenters dito sa QC (who wouldnt after callcenter hopping for 4 years?) some of the companies DO NOT require their employees to waste time getting this bulshit occupational permit… while (malas ko) my company does.
my two cents:
1. sa dami ng business at call center sa QC.. kapal ng mukha nila (ng gobyerno) na mang harass pa. is it bec election is near kaya need ng pera ng QC for campaign?
2. its great to know that my company did not pay up to those crooks (yung nag panggap na QC emp/rep) BUT does it mean you guys have to pass it on to us employees?
ms.tery said
am November 5 2009 @ 11:01 pm
Well, i just heard that other call centers did not let their employees do this dragging permit. (some floors up and down or surrounding libis).
according to my friend, city hall is offering a package for the call center so that they wont hassle their employees in getting the permit. Instead someone from the municipal will go to the office and take care of it.
Additional charges apply but i dont mind instead of wasting my time getting this permit and doing this on leave.
The bad this is, this permit expires this december and the good news is every year you are going to get the freaking permit.
So when’s the next deadline? X(
kimoy said
am November 22 2009 @ 3:50 pm
carigmah, tax po yung binabayaran dun.so 10% of your declared salary is what you pay for. pag di mo dineclare, depende po sa area mo kung san ka kumukuha. yun lang po.
kimoy said
am November 27 2009 @ 1:43 pm
and before we all complain, let’s take a look at the rationale behind it. i understand that it can be really much of a problem to secure this permit considering the schedules of work. however, we have to remember that people who earn less than we do have to secure this permit even before they can start working.
imagine people working minimum wage jobs having to spend days and hours just to get this permit. di pa nga sila kumikita ng mamiso nilang sweldo, guamgastos na sila.
patience is indeed something we do not have for most things other than our customers. it’s a shame really.
we slave away in service of a foreign master. but a little contribution to the country, we go into a rampage about.
again, the rationale here is important. and i can well say, with my experience in working with the quezon city government for 3 years, that the people get what they pay for. the problem with those who think they don’t benefit from anything is because they do not even bother to become aware of what’s happening and the other benefits that are available for people.
yun lang.
John Q. said
am January 15 2011 @ 3:00 am
What happens if i don’t secure a permit? Do they have that much power to prosecute people? This is total BS by the QC government, for what they say? Improvements? what improvements do you see?
John Ray Cabrera said
am February 4 2011 @ 10:16 pm
Occupational Permit Filing, why are WE charged Php350 when in the permit, it only shows Health Certificate Fee Php75 and Mayor’s Occupational Fee Php50. Total of Php125. Indeed, the corruption in the Philippine government starts from a smallest centavo.
Choi said
am April 5 2011 @ 3:39 pm
Kimoy, I would like to post the same question that John Q raised… What happens if we’re not able to secure this permit? Do they prosecute us? How? What is the rationale for this permit, if you know? And what benefit comes with this permit? Tax, we understand. But this… We can’t even find this at the net as we browse.
Trina said
am May 30 2011 @ 11:10 am
Hi, I just want to thank you for this informative post. I’m about to start teaching in San Juan and was told to secure an occupational permit as a requirement. But when I called the San Juan City Hall to inquire, nobody knew what I was talking about. It was only from this post that I got an idea about the permit. Thanks for the help
Admin girl said
am June 6 2011 @ 3:30 pm
Namomroblema rin kami nito. We are currently in Mandaluyong and as of this year, ni rerequire na rin kami nito.. Anyone out there who are employed by call centers in Mandaluyong? Could you please share your experiences with this? Parang ang tedious kasi ng process e not to mention magastos because of the health check ups. We have an HMO naman e and pre-employment. Cguro naman mas mahigpit mga employers natin sa requirement na “fit to work” kaysa sa local government??
Franco Queso said
am July 19 2011 @ 1:38 am
What i only see here is the goverment only wants to get kickbacks from the fees they will get from us. 5 years na akong nag work sa callcenter at ngayun ko lang narinig ang ganyang policy ng gobyerno. Kesyo ba malakas nag kita ng mga callcenter at sinali na nila tayu para makakuha sila ng pera satin? Bakit ngayun lang nila naisip yan. Wala ka naman napapakinabangan sa mga tax nakukuha ng gobyerno satin, Tapus idadagdag nila ito. Bakit kailangan yung emplyado pakukuha at bakit hindi sila makipag coordinate sa HR ng companyan na yun. Hiwalay pa pa check nila sa pa check up ng private employer mo. Doble gastos kay Juan Del Cruz yan. Hindi man lang nila explain kung bakit kailangan kumuha netong permit na ito. Basta pina apply nila na walang abiso sa tao. Puro sila gumagawa ng batas para makapanggantso sa tao , pansariling kapakanan at walang pakialam sa kapwa pilipino nila. MGA HINDOT KAYU TRAPO NG LIPUNAN!!!!!
Franco Queso said
am July 19 2011 @ 4:25 am
i just don’t see the significance of paying these fees. Not unless the government can really give me a good reason why should i even bother doing it. For past years the government can even give a good life for Juan Dela Cruz. Pass governments don’t give a f*ck ass about their people. What they only want is something they can put into their f*cking pockets and pay for their luxurious life. In the Philippines people are used so that government officials can be rich and become powerful. People in the government even suggested to make a “Boxer” to become president. What the hell!!! Only people that benefit with the funds they gather from these “PERMITS” is the ones that KICKBACK from the extra incomes they get from it!!! Our government’s “CANCER” is already on it’s red zone. Not unless all of the government officials die! The Philippines and its people are doom to die poor as well!!!!
eidref said
am November 10 2011 @ 11:01 am
Good luck to Herbert Bautista..I guess ito ang ikakatalo nya…Masyado syang pasaway …Take note yearly pa ito gagawin guys…Tambling talaga ako dito kay Herbert Bautista..
Miss Pissed said
am November 21 2011 @ 7:32 pm
Kulang pa daw kasi ang nahuhuthot ni Herbert Bautista na P98 million noong 2009, P83 million noong 2008, at P33 million noong 2007 sa food and softdrinks at biskwit na sinasabi nyang pinakain nya daw sa mga constituents ng QC.