• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The Bacolod Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) and City Legal Office (CLO) Enforcement Team shut down 17 additional businesses last Tuesday, for operating in the city without a business permit.
Lawyer Karol Joseph Chiu, head of CLO, stated that the closed establishments were a variety of businesses such as restaurants, computer shops, cellphone repair shops, tire supply stores, and beauty salons.
It follows the closure of six businesses last week, for violating Section 65, Article 20 of City Ordinance 565.
The BPLO reportedly issued notices to the affected businesses, but they still failed to process their business permits.
Chiu noted that some of the businesses that had been shut down by the city government have since gone to the BPLO to process their business permits.
On the other hand, three businesses were permitted to reopen on Wednesday afternoon after fulfilling necessary requirements.
In the recent mapping inspections, 43 businesses have been initially recommended for closure and over 100 establishments were added and given notices in the city, as they still operate without business permits.
Meanwhile, Mayor Greg Gasataya said that he is open for dialogue with the business owners, to tackle legal remedies for them to comply with the requirements of the city.
“If they are facing problems that prevent them from securing permits, they should coordinate with us and we’ll act on it,” Gasataya said.*
