City office warns vs extortionist

THE head of the City Permits and Licensing Division warned the public against an extortionist who poses as an inspector of the division only to steal money from the public.

Laywer Sonny Petierre said Monday the suspect has already divested P300,000 from a service company, which had delinquency in its permits.

Petierre said his office has received complaints that the impostor demanded from delinquent establishment owners that they should secure the necessary business permit to operate within the day or else they will be ordered closed.

He said the authorized representatives of his division inspect the establishment as a team and they wear complete uniform with their identification cards.

“We don’t field any single individual to conduct inspection,” he said.

He said the last time they inspected establishments was after the Holy Week.

“When the establishment has a violation, it is issued a notice of violation, which it has to comply with within three days,” he said.

“We don’t demand from the establishment owners to comply with the requirement within a day. They are given three days to comply and sometimes even more than three days, if necessary,” he added.

He also said the division personnel are not allowed to receive payments outside of their office.

“Only the personnel of the City Treasurer’s office are allowed to collect fees because they have the corresponding receipts,” he said.

He assured the public to track down the suspect so that such incident will be prevented.

“This matter will be reported to the police and necessary action will be taken against the culprit,” he said.

He urged the public to report similar modus operandi to the City Permits and Licensing Division hotline at 435-2607. (CNC)