Rico’s Lechon goes to court over business closure

Following the closure of its branches and plant in Cebu City allegedly for absence of a business permit, Rico’s Lechon is bringing the issue to court.

In its petition for mandamus, Rico’s Lechon said it is the City Hall allegedly failed to act on its business permit application for 2017 despite the company having complied with all requirements.

It asked the court to order Mayor Tomas Osmeña and City Treasurer Tessie Camarillo to grant the business permit.

“Until the filing of this petition, Mayor Osmeña failed and continues to fail to issue business permit to petitioner. He is hell bent in closing petitioner’s business operation by using the lame excuse that petitioner is operating without business permit when it is he who failed to act on petitioner’s application despite full compliance,” the petition reads.

“The issuance of the business or mayor’s permit becomes purely ministerial and not discretionary once all the requirements for its issuance were duly complied with,” it reads further.

Rico’s Lechon is being run by 3MRS Dionson Corporation.

The company is also asking the court to order the city to reopen the company’s commissary in Barangay Talamban, which the city closed last Friday.

During the hearing yesterday, Regional Trial Court Judge Stewart Himalaloan directed Osmeña and Camarillo to comment on the petition within 15 days.

City Legal Office head Lawyer Joseph Bernaldez is confident the court will rule in favor of the city.

“Kung balaod lang ang hisgutan, diri gyud nato,” he said.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling in Abraham Rimando vs Naguilian Testing Center, Bernaldez said issuing a business permit is discretionary on the part of the mayor and not ministerial.

“A mayor’s duty to issue business permits is discretionary in nature which may not be enforced by a mandamus writ,” the Supreme Court decision reads.

Citing the Local Government Code, it added, “the power of the respondent mayor to issue license and permits is circumscribed, is a manifestation of the delegated police power of a municipal corporation. Necessarily, the exercise thereof cannot be deemed ministerial. As to the question of whether the power is validly exercised, the matter is within the province of a writ of certiorari, but certainly, not of mandamus.”

By this, it means that mayor will decide whether to issue a business permit or not by not following established procedures.

In an interview, Osmeña stood firm in his decision not to issue a business permit to Rico’s Lechon.

“If you defraud a bank or a government, does not mean you are no longer guilty as long as you pay or comply? That means all the business now cheating the city can just wait until they caught? Just comply and everything will be ‘okay’?” he told The FREEMAN.

Rico’s Lechon’s branch in Barangay Mabolo was operating since 2012 while its branch along Escario Street was opening for six months. The commissary was functional for one year.

Last week, the owners of Rico’s Lechon told reporters the city came after them after they severed ties with Osmeña’s daughterin-law as business partner.

Osmeña denied the same and said it was not his daughter-in-law’s responsibility to work on the business permit.

He also showed screenshots of phone messages, which showed that his daughter-in-law kept on following-up with her business partners on the permit’s processing.