VIC ENTERPRISES CLOSES HARDWARE STORE, WAREHOUSES IN MABOLO
Osmeña warns construction firms against buying goods from Vic Enterprises, saying that these will be forfeited.
Vic Enterprises voluntarily shut down its hardware store and warehouses in Barangay Mabolo a day before the Cebu City Government was set to close its establishments. The firm emptied its warehouses and moved the goods to its other branches. Raquel Arce, Probe chief, said management offered no resistance when they served the closure order last Tuesday. The City Treasurer’s Office inspection report, dated Nov. 13, revealed that the firm had been undertaking different lines of business without a business permit. It also allegedly violated the Philippine Clean Air Act for not taking “reasonable precautions” to prevent the emission of particulate matter.
If Jucol Caspar could wish for something this Christmas, it would be for Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña to have a change of heart.
The fates of the 54-year-old and his almost 500 colleagues remain unknown as the City Government is scheduled to shut down today morning several establishments owned by their employer, Vicente Ongchanhoi.
Caspar has been working as a checker at Vic Enterprises since 1983. He was supposed to celebrate his 35th year as an employee of the wholesaler of construction materials in 2018.
He planned to bid farewell to his workplace in Barangay Mabolo yesterday, before a team from City Hall could arrive to close Vic Enterprises’ warehouses and a hardware store.
“I appeal to Mayor Tom to have pity on us. I hope he will allow us to open again. Our livelihood helped us a lot,” Caspar told SunStar Cebu
A minimum wage earner, Caspar said his salary has helped him send his four kids to college.
“We don’t know where to go now. We are waiting for instructions from our boss. They might transfer us to our other branches in Mandaue City or Talisay City. We will just wait,” he said.
But before the City could close their establishments, Vic Enter- prises voluntarily shut down their hardware store and warehouses.
They have also emptied their warehouses and hauled all the goods to their other branches.
A representative of Vic Enterprises who requested not to be named said they won’t comment on the move of the City for now.
At City Hall, Raquel Arce, head of the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, Enhancement said they served the closure order against the establishment last Tuesday and there was no resistance from the management.
“They were cooperative and were not hostile. When we arrived, there were already padlocks on the doors,” she said.
Osmeña, for his part, said that the closure order against Vic En- terprises pushed through because he was not convinced by the management’s explanation.
“Correcting a deficiency does not mean they’re right. Many of the warehouses up to now don’t have business permits. The intent to defraud the government is very clear,” he told reporters.
In a reply to the show-cause order issued by the City dated Dec. 8, Ongchanhoi said they have been adopting mitigating measures to address all complaints.
The City Treasurer’s Office said that the establishment has been engaging in different lines of business without securing business permits.
The City Transportation Office, on the other hand, reported that the delivery trucks of Vic Enterprises and their other vehicles have had numerous traffic violations.
The establishment also allegedly failed to comply with recommendations given by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7.
Vic Enterprises allegedly violated the Philippine Clean Air Act for not taking “reasonable precautions” to prevent the emission of particulate matter.
“Let this serve as a warning to all those buying from Vic Enterprises. Any deliveries to your construction site that comes from Vic will be subject to forfeiture, including the trucks. We will confiscate that,” Osmeña said. /