Monday, March 05, 2007 Puentevellas to file mandamus vs Bing By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan
AGGRIEVED by the padlocking of their Happy Bingo outlet last Saturday, the sons of Rep. Monico Puentevella will file a mandamus suit Monday against Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia and other city officials behind the closure order.
The Puentevellas claimed their bingo outlet is covered with complete permits. "We will let the court compel the city to reopen Happy Bingo," stressed lawyer Jesus V. Hinlo, acting as counsel for Phuture Visions Corporation, Inc. (PVCI), operator of Happy Bingo.
Claudio "Calau" Puentevella heads PVCI.
Happy Bingo outlet located beside the Activity Center and Food Court at the North Wing of SM City was officially padlocked Saturday 6 a.m., the second day of SM operations in Bacolod City.
The City Legal Enforcement Team, led by lawyer Vicente Petierre III, executed the memorandum to padlock Happy Bingo for not having the necessary business permit.
City Legal Officer Allan Zamora directed Petierre, head of the enforcement unit, to enforce the closure order.
Zamora cited "PVCI's failure to secure Mayor's permit or even to apply for such" as reason for the closure, adding that "It was supposedly done Friday but only because of so many people that we moved it on Saturday to avoid stampede."
The order states that records of the City's Permits and Licensing Division show that Phuture Visions Company, Inc., has not issued any Mayor's Permit to operate Bingo games at the SM City Mall Bacolod City.
Harassment, oppression, deprivation
"I felt sad doing this but I need to because what the mayor did was not the right path for him to follow," Hinlo said, adding that he can't understand what made the mayor order the closure when his client (PVCI) is doing a legitimate business.
"We will file mandamus to let the court order the city to reopen Happy Bingo," Hinlo said.
"This is harassment, this is oppression, this is deprivation not only against the Puentevellas but also to ordinary people who will lose jobs because of the mayor's hasty decision against the business of his political nemesis," stressed Hinlo.
Know and respect the law
Zamora, however, remains firm in his claim that PVCI has never applied for Mayor's permit for its bingo operations.
"For lack of a Mayor's Permit or any application for issuance of a Mayor's Permit, PVCI should not be allowed to operate Bingo games at SM City Mall. But if the Puentevellas really want to operate Happy Binggo, then they have to apply for Mayor's permit. That's all," Zamora said.
He even asked Rep. Puentevella to know and respect the law being a congressman.
Inadvertently written
Zamora, on the other hand, accused Marissa T. Dejilla, a casual employee at the City's Permits and Licensing Division, of tampering the claim slip given to PVCI.
"I've already ordered an investigation on the matter," Zamora said.
Reached for comment, Dejilla explained why she stated the "Bingo Operations" in the claim slip given to PVCI dated Feb. 19, 2007.
She explained that the word "Bingo Operation" appearing in the Claim Slip was inadvertently written due to the numerous applicants catered everyday, a plain human error.
"I think what is more important is the point on, what was assessed and what was paid for. As a central system of our computerization program, only line of business assessed and paid for will be printed," Dejilla further explained.
Zamora, however, contented that under the application of PVCI, the original line of business, which is Sale of Services, was erased and changed to Bingo Operation, which is a form of falsification.
The same with the business address from RH Building, 26th Lacson Street to SM City, Reclamation area in Barangay 12, he added.
Win-win solution
Hinlo said the city is supposed to look for a win-win solution to the problem.
He said Zamora's act of having the establishment padlocked was a gesture of harassing businessmen or scaring away investors in Bacolod.
"If the city can afford to do this to the sons of a congressman, how much more to ordinary people?" asked Hinlo.
He added that if the Leonardia administration wanted to prove to its detractors that they are not harassing their nemesis, it should look for positive ways of solving the problem.
On the other hand, Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Roberto "Bobby" Montelibano said, "They should avoid washing their dirty linens in public. They should behave because they're leaders of the city. This is bad for business."
Documents
Meanwhile, documents presented by PVCI to Sun.Star, showed that it has applied for Mayor's permit with specified business as Bingo operations on July 12, 2006.
Hinlo also showed a copy of the letter to Secretary to the Mayor Rogelio G. Balo to Claudio on January 23, which showed the review/opinion of Zamora himself.
In that letter, Zamora said he "finds no legal impediment to grant the request of Claudio Puentevella, President of PVCI for a permit to operate a new franchise for Bingo Bonanza at SM City Mall.
But Hinlo said they were when Architect Lemuel Reynaldo of the City Planning and Development Office informed them on Feb. 22 that they are revoking their earlier decision on zoning matter issued to PVCI dated Feb. 20, 2007.
Worse, he said Zamora also issued a memorandum stating that PVCI has failed to secure Mayor's Certification of No Objection which Zamora alleged as requirement of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) under Procedures and Requirements in Applying for Grant of Authority to Operate Bingo Games.
Hinlo, in his letter to Reynaldo on Feb.26, said Pagcor has already approved their application without requiring a Mayor's Certification of No Objection.
He also reminded Reynaldo in his letter that it is only Pagcor and not the City of Bacolod that has regulatory control in the grant of the authority to operate bingo outlet.
"Whatever requirements that the Pagcor obliges from its applicants is solely and exclusively within the said Agency's jurisdiction. The Pagcor's Board Resolution conferring upon my client the authority to operate Bingo games at SM City Mall, effectively superseded the procedures and requirements," Hinlo also stressed in his letter.
