DELIVERY riders were advised to ignore the old rates when renewing their business permits to continue service. Instead, the city will only collect a fixed rate of P125 for the occupational permit.
Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr. assured during the Aprubado sa Konseho on Tuesday that delivery riders only have to wait for the amendment of the Revenue Code to be “finally and officially enforceable.”
“I think the advice to them by the business bureau is not to pay yet, because if they pay now, they will pay the old rate. They have nothing to worry about,” Quitain said.
The amendment of the provision of the city’s Revenue Code requiring riders to secure a business permit was passed during the 20th City Council’s regular session on Dec. 5, 2024.
Councilor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, proponent councilor, said the amendment does not need implementing rules and regulations for its enforcement.
“Provided it has undergone publication, it will be automatically enforceable,” Ortiz told reporters in a sideline interview during the first regular session for 2025 on Jan. 7.
Payment of the P125 occupational permit starts in January, the same time as renewal and securing of the business permit and failure to comply would earn a 25% surcharge starting Feb. 1, 2025.
The committee repealed Ordinance No. 0612-21, Series of 2021, and amended Ordinance No. 0291-17, Series of 2017, or the 2017 Revenue Code of Davao City, expanding the coverage of service contractors by including those who provide personal services that do not fall under the exercise of a profession, such as, but not limited to, delivery riders.
The ordinance covers workers or individuals providing personal services in the City of Davao- whether employed temporarily, permanently, outsourced, or working remotely, including telecommuting and work-from-home arrangements.
Previously, the delivery riders were required to pay from P1,270 to P5,200 yearly from 2021, depending on their income assessment, on top of their loaned motorcycle units.
File photo by Bing Gonzales
