‘Process biz permit renewal in my office’

CEBU City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants banks owned by three big corporations in the country to directly process the renewal of their business permits in his office.

The mayor said he won’t allow the banks owned by Ayala Corp., SM Prime Holdings and Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to transact at the City’s one-stop-shop in Robinsons Galleria Cebu.

“They must apply directly in the mayor’s office because they’re in my negative list. If I’m going to find anything wrong with them, I’ll throw all the books. They want to steal our property, I know how to fight back. I’m doing this to protect the interest of the city,” he told reporters yesterday.

Osmeña, though, did not elaborate why these banks belong to his negative list.

Recently, Osmeña filed a criminal complaint before the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor against the executives and board of directors of BDO Unibank, Inc. for allegedly violating the City Tax Ordinance.

BDO is an affiliate of SM Prime Holdings.

Ayala, SM and FLI are all locators of the South Road Properties (SRP).

During the administration of former mayor Michael Rama, SM together with Ayala Land Inc. bought a 26-hectare lot at the SRP while FLI bought 19.2 hectares.

The mayor has since questioned the transaction and disclosed his plans to rescind the sale. RVC