It was pretty simple, surprisingly. With the four-year-old and the two-year-old kids riding the six-year-old stroller, I
- went to the barangay hall,
- told the lady at the window I was there to apply for a barangay permit,
- showed her my DTI certificates, and
- paid for the following:
Barangay permit = 300So it all came up to Php380.
Barangay clearance = 30
Sticker = 50
Disclaimer: Rodriguez is a first-class municipality. Fees may be different in other municipality classes.
Of course, I called the barangay hall first before I went there, to confirm what I needed to bring and what I needed to pay for. I've learned by now that you should never go to a government agency without calling first, just to make sure you don't waste your time and trip.
Incidentally, if you're from Burgos, Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal, the number of our barangay hall is 998-5280. You would not believe how much trouble it took me to get that. It was not available online when I needed it last December, so I had to call Rizal's Governor's Office, which sent me to a number that turned out to be a private number, etc., etc., -- I can't even remember anymore how I finally found the barangay hall's number, but -- woohoo! -- I did!
So now I have the DTI and the barangay permit. Next stop: mayor's permit!
The hat over the fence
To tell the truth, there came a point in time when I just wanted to drop it all and go back to regular freelance contractorship.
Why? The paperwork was daunting! DTI, barangay permit, mayor's permit, BIR registration, application for printing receipts, and heaven knows what else, to say nothing yet of computing my taxes and, of course, the most painful part of all, paying the fees!
But the problem is this: I had already registered the Escrive trade name at the DTI last January, and I found out yesterday from my accountant friend that if you have registered already to the DTI, you need to register too to the BIR within 30 days or risk getting penalized.
Well, it's been exactly 60 days since I registered Escrive at the DTI, so I have at least one month's penalty . . .
For about ten minutes, I considered just getting the trade name registration cancelled. But I found out that entails an affidavit of cancellation, which heaven only knows how much that will cost. And it also means I have to physically go and fall in line at the DTI since they have, as of the moment, no online facility for cancellation of trade names. (If I remember correctly, there used to be one, at the same online portal where I registered, but the portal seems to be down again.)
So here I am with the proverbial hat thrown over the fence. I have practically no choice but to push on to the bitter end of the paperwork trail.
I comfort myself with the thought the the birth is really the hardest part, and once the "baby" is born, it's mostly sweet. Not easy, but sweet. I'm sure you moms can relate to me.
It's the same with businesses, I guess. The start-up part is daunting. But if you don't go through the birthing process, you will never have the joy of seeing the business grow.
