FOLLOWING its full migration to end-to-end virtual licensing last September, the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) has gained accreditation from the International Standards Organization (ISO) for its management systems and processes that have passed global standards and quality assurance.
The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) attached agency was awarded the ISO 9001:2015 Certification by A Cube TIC, proving its dedication to bring reforms to its operations as well as streamline the licensing requirements for the construction industry.
PCAB is the sole government agency that has achieved an online end-to-end license processing.
Its digital processing started in June of 2020, covering application and renewal for contractor’s licenses, as well as stand-alone government registration for public infrastructure projects.
DTI Undersecretary Ireneo V. Vizmonte praised PCAB on its accomplishment. He said: “These milestones are just our means to the end, we aim to have a high client satisfaction rating.”
On their part, PCAB Executive Director Herbert DG Matienzo attributed such achievement to the trade agency’s official, who supported and guided such initiative that cuts short the process for renewal and new license application from four weeks to four days, as well as trims down the needed documents from 24 to nine. Applying for joint venture licenses may also be secured in just one day.
He, likewise, thanked the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), particularly the USAID/Deliver Project team, for assisting them to shift to the online platform.
The PCAB website includes streamlined requirements and complete digitalization of licensing application available 24/7; settlement via digital payment platforms such as Paymaya/Maya, GCash, and LandBank Linkbiz Portal; virtual interview for the new authorized managing officers and newly nominated sustainable technical employees; real-time feedback for status application; downloading of digital license certificate; and license verification website for public utilization.
Also included in the portal is the recently debuted “Pakyaw” license that caters both the micro, small and medium enterprises and small-scale contractors.
Since it kicked off two years ago, the number of applications and transactions significantly has grown. In fact, the applications processed through this web channel aggregated to 45,359 from June 2020 until December 2021.
With the launch of the PCAB Online Portal, the agency’s processed applications increased by 115.18 percent to 136,182 between 2016 and 2021, or 72,897 higher than 63,285 from 2010 to 2015.
In terms of the number of accredited contractors during the periods in review, there has been a marked surge in new licenses by 100.48 percent to 79,156 between 2016 to 2021, or up 39,674 from the accumulative total of 39,482 from 2010 to 2015.
As of September this year, PCAB has already cracked the glass ceiling of 50,000 transactions.
According to PCAB Chair Dr. Pericles P. Dakay, customer service and data mining will be the focus of their next phase of development.
“By yearend, we will also surpass the P350 million projected target this year. We shall prioritize better client feedback platform, and mining of statistics on contractors, their market shares in the Philippines and value of the construction work being done to be able to get a better picture of the industry and enhance our services further,” he said.
The calculated net worth of PCAB Licensed Contractors for Contracting Fiscal Year 2021-2022 reached almost P241.5 billion, compared to P235.4 billion and P213.6 billion in the previous years.
PCAB is one of the implementing boards in the Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines. It is mandated by law through Republic Act 4566 to issue, suspend, and revoke licenses of contractors; investigate violations under its implementing rules and regulations, and register and classify licensed contractors for government projects.