■ CITY TO SHUT DOWN VIC ENTERPRISES’ 7 WAREHOUSES IN MABOLO, CEBU CITY

For reportedly operating without business permits, the hardware store and warehouses of a wholesaler of construction materials in Barangay Mabolo may soon be closed by the Cebu City Government. The pronouncement was made last Friday by Mayor Tomas Osmeña, after reviewing the evaluation results of the on-site inspection conducted by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the City Treasurer’s Office on the operations and tax duties of Vic Enterprises. “We’re working on that, I promise you. They have seven warehouses that have no business permits either. These will all be closed permanently,” he said. The issuance of a closure order against Vic Enterprises made headlines earlier last month after the mayor received numerous text messages from concerned citizens who complained about damaged roads, air pollution and heavy traffic caused by the hardware’s operations, particularly the trucks that deliver and haul construction supplies. In a meeting with Osmeña last Nov. 7, Vicente Ong, owner of Vic Enterprises, went to City Hall with Mabolo Barangay Captain Reynaldo Ompoc, an ally of the administration, to prove that they already addressed the problems raised by the complainants. The mayor, however, was not convinced. In a separate interview yesterday, a representative of Vic Enterprises who requested anonymity told SunStar Cebu that they won’t comment on the matter for now.