THE Cebu City Government wants a wholesaler of construction materials to explain why their warehouses and hardware store in Barangay Mabolo should not be closed.
City Attorney Joseph Bernaldez said that Vicente Ong, owner of Vic Enterprises, paid Mayor Tomas Osmeña a visit yesterday afternoon to ask the latter not to shut down their business.
This came after the mayor received numerous text messages from concerned citizens who complained about the damaged roads, air pollution and heavy traffic caused by the hardware’s operations, particularly the trucks that deliver and haul construction supplies.
“Many have told me that the dust and mud caused by their trucks are unbearable. The roads are being destroyed by their heavy equipment, and their drivers have no respect for traffic laws,” Osmeña said in a Facebook post dated Nov. 7.
“Despite being warned, they have chosen to not do anything. That they only decide to take the matter seriously now that they’re threatened with closure is not my problem. Due process requires that closure be done in two weeks, so that’s how long they have to pack up,” he added.
During the meeting with the mayor yesterday, Ong was accompanied by Mabolo Barangay Captain Reynaldo Ompoc, an ally of the administration, to prove that they have already addressed the problems raised by the complainants.
The mayor, however, was not convinced.
“Dismayed, exasperated”
Bernaldez said that aside from traffic and concerns on air pollution, reports on Vic Enterprises’s alleged unregistered properties in the area have also surfaced.
The city attorney said he will send Ong a show-cause order as soon as he receives the evaluation results of the on-site inspection that will be conducted by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the City Treasurer’s Office.
“The mayor may have been dismayed and exasperated hearing all these complaints against Vic Enterprises. It’s been there for such a long time. Aside from environmental concerns, apparently all the warehouses in the area are allegedly owned by Vic Enterprises. But these are unregistered and we have yet to determine if the properties were bought or leased,” Bernaldez said.
He said this will be the first show-cause order the City Government will issue the company.
Failure to comply with the order within the given time or effectively explain themselves may result to the implementation of the closure order, Bernaldez added.
In a separate interview, a representative of Vic Enterprises who requested anonymity said they won’t comment on the matter for now.