THE owners of several commercial complexes surrounding the Bankerohan Public Market said they were surprised over the violation they allegedly committed as the reason they were closed by the Business Bureau effective May 1, 2020.
Northbank Holdings Corporation general manager Nelita Bañagaso said they received a letter from the Business Bureau in the afternoon of April 30, after their establishments were closed.
The letter states that Northbank has violated two policies -- the enhanced community quarantine guidelines and Davao City’s revenue code.
“Mao lagi daw, unya ang ilaha gyung gibutang sa poster nga ilahang sabit sa order kay 2017 revenue code violation nga wala man me nakalapas ana, kalit kaayo to wala’y notice of closure nabigay sa amin prior sa pag sirado nila so wala na namo nahabol ang opisina nila to inquire kay sirado na ilahang office para mag clarify kung unsa ilahang violation. Pero ingon nila ang focus gyud is ang violation sa ECQ, mao ra na ilang giingon kagahapon (What was on the tarpaulin was that we violated the 2017 Revenue Code. But we have always paid our taxes on time. It happened too fast; they did not provide us a notice for the closure too. We wanted to clarify things but their office is closed. But what they did tell us is that some of the stores violated the ECQ guidelines),” Bañagaso said in a phone interview with SunStar Davao yesterday.
Northbank Holdings is the management arm of the Marforis.
She, however, said they will seek a meeting with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Monday, May 4, since there was no work Friday, May 1, and admitted that they do not have any idea what the result would be.
“We have not received any prior notice of closure order, but they said that there won’t be any need for due process anymore if the violation committed concerns on public safety and public health,” she said, adding that they have religiously paid their due taxes to the city government.
In response to the alleged ECQ guidelines violations, Bañagaso said they have done their best by establishing hand washing stations in every entrance of their establishments; employing additional staff to man the entrances to strictly enforce the social distancing and the wearing of mask among the buying public; employing sound systems inside the establishments announcing the social distancing policy of the government.
They have since modified the same to create a one-entrance-one-exit system, imposed curfew restrictions and FM Pass inspections, and had even established separate areas for deliveries from outside the city as later required by subsequent EOs.
But despite that, she admitted that there were some people who are not following the health guidelines properly.
She also admitted that lines outside their areas along adjacent streets which were beyond their jurisdiction posed a problem.
In Farmers Market, which is within Barangay 2-A, this problem was managed well due to the assistance of the barangay officials headed by Barangay Captain Caloy Garcia. The Farmers Market remains open.
She also said that one of their establishments, the Pag-asa Fish Trading area, was also closed down. There are two Pag-asa Fish Trading operating at Bankerohan, the one Northbank Holdings Corp. own and the one owned by the Pag-asa Fish Vendors Association, which allegedly illegally occupied the area belonging to the Marforis.
The Pag-asa Trading owned by the fish vendors association in Barangay 5-A opened a separate entrance to their area and allegedly does not have handwashing facilities in addition to the opening before curfew hours or about 3 a.m. She also claimed that there was neither intervention from barangay officials nor assistance in dealing with the issues at the Pag-Asa Fish Trading.
“Ang address man gud nila sa amoa sa letter kay Riverside Pag-asa supposedly owned by the Pag-asa Vendors Association pero ilang gibutang is Riverside Pag-asa Northbank, libog gani pero nag-close nalang pud mi sa among Pag-asa although wala pa mi na-clear kung unsa gyud ni nga Pag-asa ilang gi-mean (They addressed their letter to Riverside Pag-asa, which is supposedly owned by the Pag-asa Fish Vendors Association but they wrote in the letter address Riverside Pag-asa Northbank, it was confusing but we were not able to clear it because the letter was sent already too late. We just closed down our Pag-asa),” she said.
She also expressed concern that the food supply of the city may be affected further with the closure. She also expressed worry should they reopen as it can cause congestion if there was a sudden surge of market-goers.
She, however, said the Marforis is committed to supporting the government-mandated measures to contain Covid-19.
“If there are measures the Marforis have failed to comply with, it is not intentional or due to negligence but more due to its limited jurisdiction, limited resources, and intransigence of some members of the buying public,” she said.
Northbank Holdings Corporation owned some establishments surrounding the Bankerohan Public Market including the Pag-asa, where the fish “bagsakan” can be found, North Junction (the area where the former famous bulalo-an can be located), and the Farmer’s Market, where one of the vegetable “bagsakans” can be found.
The Metro Circle, another Marfori-owned establishment, was also closed by the Business Bureau.
SunStar Davao tried to contact the Business Bureau but there was no response as of this writing.