Chinese businessman Kenneth Dong one of the owners of Liv Super Club resto bar at Times Square in Mandaue City.(CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
The Mandaue City government has given a high-end club linked to controversial businessman Kenneth Dong 10 days to settle its unpaid amusement taxes or face closure.
Lawyer Elaine Bathan, chief of staff of Mayor Luigi Quisumbing, said they would send a 10-day notice to Liv Super Club after the City Treasurer’s Office had given them the computation of the club’s unpaid amusement taxes from 2016 to 2017.
The notice would be addressed to the incorporators of Liv Super Club that included Dong, one of the alleged players in the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu.
The businessman was identified as the alleged “middleman” of Chinese businessman Richard Tan in shipping 604 kilos of shabu to the country.
He, however, was arrested on Tuesday on rape charges.
The management of Liv Disco Club Inc., however, expressed shock on media report linking Dong to the illegal drugs trade.
“Liv would like to assure the public that it is not in any way connected with the alleged illegal transactions/activities of Kenneth Dong. As far as we are concerned, our dealings with him as co-owner of Liv are all legitimate,” said operations Manager Benray Conti, in a statement sent to Cebu Daily News.
He added that Dong, a minority shareholder who was not based in Cebu, was not directly involved in their operations.
But if proven that Dong indeed had a hand in the shipment of shabu to the country, Conti said the management of Liv Disco would not condone any wrongdoing.
Quisumbing formed a team to look into Liv Super Club after Dong was identified as one of the owners of the high-end club in Mandaue.
Investigation showed that Liv Super Club was late in paying its amusement taxes in 2015 but was allowed to continue operating to give it time to settle its bills.
But Bathan said Liv Super Club failed to pay less than P1 million in amusement taxes for 2016 and about P500,000 for 2017 although the City Treasurer’s Office had yet to submit a final computation.
The lawyer added that the club has a business permit that will expire in December.
Bathan said they would also inspect Liv Super Club to check if it had other violations aside from its failure to pay its amusement taxes. They would check Liv Super Club if it had complied with the building code, among others.
“We are also trying to look at the other incorporators of the disco bar if they have other businesses in Mandaue City and check its legality,” said Bathan.
Mayor Quisumbing told reporters that a member of the investigating team who looked into Liv Super Club received a threat from an unidentified person. A team member received a call from a man who warned that something bad would happen if the investigation continued.
“We have shared this information to Mandaue City Police Office and of course our investigating team were advised to be careful,” said Quisumbing.
Conti said the management of Liv Disco was open to any investigation by the Mandaue City government and other law enforcement agencies.
He added they also appreciated the clarification made by Mandaue City Hall that Liv had indeed a valid business permit until December 31.
Conti’s statement, however, was silent about the failure of the establishment to pay its amusement taxes.
Conti also said that they coordinated with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) “to reinforce our efforts to make sure our establishment remains drug-free.”
“Liv strongly supports the President’s effort to eradicate the drug problem which is the number one menace in our society,” he said.