(December 22, 2013) CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — At least for a little more than two months starting this latter part of December to January 2014, businessmen and Fernandinos wishing to renew or get new business permits, licenses or pay taxes will be relieved from parking woes.

This, as SM City San Fernando Downtown and the Metropolitan Cathedral administration recently inked an agreement with the City Government here for free parking spaces to people with transactions at City Hall.

Councilor Noel Tulabut, who initiated the move, said the agreement was a sort of public-private partnership (PPP).

“It is actually a form of PPP that saves Fernandinos and business people from the inconvenience of looking for a parking space that is within the vicinity of city hall when they transact business, especially the peak months of December and January when licenses are renewed and new permits acquired,” he said.

Parking slots at patio of the Metropolitan Cathedral, he said, will be reserved for those trooping to the city’s one-stop business shop. 

Similarly, Tulabut added, the two parking levels at SM City San Fernando Downtown will be open to those with transactions in the city government’s Business Permits and Licensing Division.

“We all know that the front of city hall has been cleared as part of the ongoing improvement of traffic management in the city proper. We are still looking for other options, like the plaza at Jose Abad Santos Street. We want investors to really be convenient and comfortable when doing business with city hall. It’s a good thing we have partners like SM and the Church,” he told Sun.Star Pampanga.

SM City San Fernando Downtown Mall manager Lana Erroba, meanwhile, expressed full support for the partnership.

“We are always supportive of such a partnership in service to Fernandinos,” she said.