Sunday, November 04, 2007 Lapu City plans another strike against Pelaez
LAPU-LAPU City Hall plans to sue businessman Efrain Pelaez Jr. and those responsible for removing the barricade and seals used to shut down Marina Mall last Oct. 19.
This development came about after the court denied Pelaez’s motion seeking to amend the temporary restraining order (TRO), so that it would cover not just City Hall’s impending demolition of the mall, but also any attempts to close it.
“The denial is a virtual confirmation of the legality of the closure and what Mr. Pelaez did was punishable under the Revised Penal Code because he destroyed the property of the City Government and defied the legal exercise of police power by the city,” lawyer Richard Sison told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview.
But Pelaez dismissed the threat as a mere attempt to skirt the preliminary injunction order issued by the court last Oct. 27, and warned that it will draw more support for him from different sectors.
Despite the TRO, City Hall closed Pelaez’s mall, saying it lacked several permits. The mall reopened after nine hours, upon intervention from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).
The TRO was issued on Oct. 11 to stop City Hall from enforcing its demolition order on the mall and two other Pelaez-owned businesses.
Dispute
Sison said they will likely file a case for causing damage to government property. Apparently, the police took pictures of those who removed the barricade and seals during the reopening of the mall.
“We are talking about the regulatory function of the City, where safety of the general public is entrusted. We closed his mall because it lacks our building permit and because had we not done it, the City, represented by Mayor (Arturo) Radaza, can be charged with dereliction of duty,” he said.
Sison said the collection of revenue is only a secondary concern, following the City’s duty to make sure all buildings are safe.
The Peza believes, however, that Marina Mall is within its turf so it should be the one to issue the required permits. To assert its authority, Peza reopened the mall nine hours after the City Government closed it.
Pelaez then filed his motion to amend the TRO.
Different?
The businessman got a reprieve. The court issued last Oct. 27 a writ of preliminary injunction, requiring both parties to observe the status quo until the case is resolved.
The order also directed Pelaez to pay the City damages if the court rules that he was not entitled to the injunction.
Sison, however, said closure and demolition are two different things, and what the TRO and the preliminary injunction stopped was only the impending demolition.
Pelaez believes that Radaza is out to harass him, after he provoked anti-graft investigations into some transactions at City Hall, including the purchase of allegedly overpriced computers. (AIV)
