THE 27 Banco de Oro (BDO) branches in Cebu City will continue their operations—at least for the next 20 days.
Executive Judge Gilbert Moises yesterday issued a status quo order preventing the Cebu City Government from closing 27 of 28 BDO branches in the city.
Moises, of the Regional Trial Court branch 18, issued the status quo order after he called both parties to a conference inside his chamber during the hearing of the civil petition.
The status quo, which in effect extended the 72-hour temporary restraining order to 20 days, will end on March 6.
Moises heard yesterday afternoon BDO’s application for issuance of the preliminary injunction against Mayor Tomas Osmeña and City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo.
Likewise, Moises also gave the counsels for both parties 10 days to submit their respective memoranda. The hearing on the petition will resume on Feb. 27.
Last Feb.13, BDO Unibank Inc., through the ACCRA Law Firm, filed the mandamus petition against the respondents before the Regional Trial Court.
In yesterday’s hearing, City Legal Officer Joseph Bernaldez said that BDO’s petition contains “serious legal defect and infirmities.”
Contrary to the bank’s claim, Bernaldez said the mayor’s responsibility is discretionary, and not just ministerial, in the applications for business permits.
Bernaldez said the petitioner cannot compel the mayor to act on the business permit applications by the mere filing of a mandamus petition. He said that the business permits of all BDO branches in Cebu City expired on Dec.31, 2016.
But Alvin Go, counsel for the BDO, said that non-payment of correct taxes are not considered as grounds to close the establishment or not renewing its business permit application.
Pursuant to Anti-Red Tape law, Go said the mayor should act on business permit applications after complying with the requirements.
On Monday, Judge Moises granted BDO’s application for 72-hour TRO, which stopped Osmeña and City Hall officials from “performing any act that leads to the closure of the BDO branches in Cebu City.”
“Finding the necessity for the issuance of the 72-hour temporary restraining order and after being persuaded that petitioner bank would suffer an irreparable injury, as alleged in the verified petition,” read Moises’ two-page order.
Moises also ordered Osmeña from making any statement to the media relative to his desire to close all 28 BDO branches in the City.
Assisted by City Legal Office Joseph Bernaldez, Osmeña filed a criminal complaint before the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor against the BDO executives and Board of Directors last Dec. 4, 2017.
Osmeña accused the bank officials of “other deceit”, “falsification by private individuals,” and for violation of the City Tax Ordinance.
The mayor said that BDO-Magallanes St. branch in Cebu City allegedly under-declared and falsified its declaration of gross sales of only P400,000 to the City Treasurer’s Office for 2016.
In the petition, BDO said the City Government refused to accept payments for 2017 local taxes and fees of its 27 bank branches, including the BDO Magallanes branch.
The City Treasurer’s Office accepted the payments only of BDO branch in SM Seaside City Cebu, which began its operation only this year.
The BDO said the City’s inaction of the banks’ payment is “without just and valid cause” meant to “proceed with his unlawful design to ultimately close all branches of BDO in Cebu City.”
BDO said Osmeña “unlawfully refused to perform his positive legal duty,” thus violating the bank’s constitutional rights.
Pursuant to the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, BDO argued that the mayor “has a positive legal duty to fairly, without bias and partiality, and timely resolve BDO’s business permit applications for 2017.”
“It cannot be gainsaid that the risk of closure of all branches in Cebu City will adversely effect BDO’s invaluable reputation image and its operations to the prejudice of its depositors, clients and the public in general,” the petition read.
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