THE Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) of the Cebu City Government has announced that it is not issuing any clearance to allow clients of the closed Jerome’s Pawnshop to redeem their pawned items.
The clarification came after several clients of the pawnshop visited the BPLO to secure clearance.
Last March 8, the City Hall closed nine branches of Jerome’s Pawnshop for allegedly violating Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rules, including its BSP Circular 938 for operating more than 10 branches under a single proprietorship.
Under the Pawnshop Regulation Act, pawnshop owners are required to register with the BSP before they can start operating.
“Since the second half of last month (April), several clients of Jerome’s Pawnshop (Cebu City) have visited our office to inquire about and secure a “mayor’s clearance” so they can redeem their pawned items as instructed, allegedly, by its personnel. This is to inform the clients of Jerome’s Pawnshop that the Cebu City Government, through this office, did not and will never require you to get a mayor’s clearance as a condition for you to demand the release of and/or get your pawned items,” read a portion of the BPLO’s announcement on Facebook.
BPLO further stated that the City Hall has no knowledge about the contract between the pawnshop and its clients.
It said: “You do not need the City’s approval before you can insist on your right for the release of your items. Further, the said alleged statements coming from the personnel of Jerome’s Pawnshop are not sanctioned by the Cebu City Government.”
The pawnshop was investigated by the City Attorney’s Office after the BSP referred to the Office of the Mayor a complaint filed against the pawnshop’s branch on Sanciangko St. for accepting a stolen item and refusing to release it to the owner without payment for the pawned item.
The pawnshop paid business taxes but it did not have a permanent mayor’s business permit, which could only be obtained if it had been able to secure a BSP clearance, one of the requirements of the City Treasurer’s Office.
Kamagayan Barangay Captain Raquel Avila, the pawnshop owner Jerome Avila’s sister-in-law, blamed politics for the closure.
Raquel said Mayor Tomas Osmeña is getting back at her family after she refused his invitation to join his party, the Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK). She is allied with the opposition Barug PDP-Laban. (RVC)