LAPU-LAPU City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan has ordered the temporary closure of a food park in Barangay Maribago after at least nine individuals were injured when the roof or canopy of the establishment collapsed Sunday night, Feb. 5, 2023.
Chan made the decision after officials of the City Engineering Office made this recommendation on finding that the operators of the Mactan Lifestyle Park committed several infractions, including the failure to secure building and business permits from the City before they started operations.
“Gikasubo nato ang maong panghitabo kagabie. Mao na atoang gi-advisan ang owner to take care sa mga nangaigo nga customers adtong mga puthaw,” Chan said on Monday, Feb. 6.
(I am saddened by the incident last night. That’s why we advised the owner to take care of their customers who got hit by the falling steel bars.)
According to Nagiel Bañacia, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), the incident occurred at around 9 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5.
Several people were reportedly dining at the Mactan Lifestyle Park in Sitio Bagumbayan 2 in Barangay Maribago when a sudden bout of heavy rain caused the roof of the park to collapse.
Around nine people were brought to nearby hospitals after sustaining head contusions, minor bruises and abrasions on their arms and neck.
Bañacia said the incident occurred about two hours after the park opened to the public for the first time.
“The center portion of the roof of the food park, which was made of steel and plastic sheets, collapsed after it accumulated a considerable volume of rainwater, according to the initial investigation of Lapu-Lapu City Rescue,” Bañacia said.
Bañacia added they also found some problems and possible defects in the park’s roof that need to be investigated by the City’s Office of the Building Official (OBO).
Operating sans permits
Perla Amar, head of the Lapu-Lapu City Engineering Office, recommended to Chan the temporary closure of the food park following their inspection Monday morning.
Amar, who also heads the city’s OBO, said Champ Luna and his wife, Ruby, the owners of the food park, visited her office Monday morning during which they admitted that they had not secured any permit from the City Government, particularly the building and business permits.
She said the couple will have to pay a maximum penalty of P10,000 for operating without a building permit.
Amar said the operators claimed they were reportedly assured by someone that they don’t need to secure permits for the food park’s construction and operation.
In a separate interview, Maribago Barangay Captain Rosalino Abing also confirmed that the operators of the food park had not secured a clearance from them to operate.
Abing said the couple is also renting the area, which they turned into a food park with at least 35 stalls, 17 of which were occupied, 10 unoccupied and eight still undergoing construction.
Guests at opening
Abing confirmed that he graced the park’s opening on Sunday night along with some barangay councilors, saying they were invited in the last week of January.
He thought that the operators had already secured the clearances from the barangay as they had already started operating at that time.
Chan, who also graced the food park’s opening along with his wife, Lapu-Lapu City Lone District Rep. Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” Chan, emphasized that his administration will continue to support and help small businessmen to stand on their own and grow their business, especially after the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and Typhoon Odette (Rai).
But the mayor stressed that this does not mean that they will allow them to do business without the necessary requirements and permits to operate legally.
Chan urged everyone who wants to do business in the city to follow the process and secure permits before they start to operate, adding that the city continues to be business-friendly and the process to get a permit is very easy to follow.
Medical expenses
The owners of the food park promised to shoulder all the expenses of those who were injured in the incident and even visited the victims in the hospital.
The couple appeared before Abing on Monday afternoon after they were summoned to the barangay to answer the complaints against them.
Abing said about six individuals were brought to the hospital for treatment, including a family of three, wherein the child was reportedly having difficulty in breathing.
The couple were emotional when they appeared before Abing. They disclosed that they received death threats as a result of the incident.
They promised to secure all the necessary permits so they can reopen. They also vowed to put up the necessary measures to ensure that their customers won’t suffer the same fate again.