No leeway for Vic Enterprises; 12 warehouses, office shut down
Mayor Osmeña doesn’t reconsider his order to stop company’s business operations in Barangay Mabolo
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will no longer give reconsideration to Vic Enterprises after its 13 establishments were closed down yesterday.
Prevention Restoration Order Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) personnel, along with lawyers from the City Legal Office and other offices of City Hall, implemented the closure order yesterday to 12 warehouses and the main office of Vic Enterprises in Barangay Mabolo.
Prior to the closure, the management opted to voluntarily close their establishments.
A guard on-duty in one of the warehouses owned by Vic Enterprises said most of the workers worked overtime for three days already to transfer their supplies to Mandaue City.
“They operate 24 hours just to be able to haul everything before City Hall personnel will come here today,” he told SunStar Cebu yesterday.
A tarpaulin was posted outside the main office of Vic Enterprises and its 12 other warehouses. It said that the establishment was ordered closed by the City Government.
One of the warehouse workers said he was very worried about the development because they might lose their jobs.
“The other branches also have their respective workers and they might not be able to accommodate us there. I’m worried, I might start looking for a new job,” he said.
Josephine Cayacap, secretary of Vic Enterprises, assured their workers that they will be absorbed in their other branches outside Cebu City.
Cayacap, who witnessed the posting of the closure notice yesterday in front of the hard- ware’s main office, said they have around a thousand workers in Cebu City.
In his news conference, Osmeña said Vic Enterprises can’t do business in the city anymore, even if they will only deliver supply in any place in the city since they don’t have any business permit.
“They can’t do business in Cebu City because they don’t have an approved business permit, simple,” the mayor told reporters.
Probe Chief Raquel Arce said they will monitor all the establishments owned by Vic Enterprises that were recently closed to make sure they will not operate again.
Although the management tried convincing the City not to close their establishments, Osmeña was firm on his stand to shut down the establishments for their failure to secure necessary permits.