A bistro along Katipunan Street, Barangay Tisa was the most recent casualty of the Cebu City government’s campaign against businesses with unpaid taxes and operating in the absence of business permit from City Hall.
Raquel Arce, head of the Prevention Restoration Order Beautification Enhancement (Probe) team, served the closure order signed by Mayor Tomas Osmeña to Anise Bistro at around 2 p.m. today (Monday).
Arce said they also placed a padlock on the bistro’s main entrance to make sure that this will not be re-opened unless authorized by Mayor Osmeña.
The closure order addressed to bistro owner and permittee Lei Clemente Macalisan and issued on May 2, 2018 was served only this afternoon.
In a Facebook message to Cebu Daily News, bistro management said they already paid P68, 227.60 to the City Treasurer’s Office on June 28.
“Good evening! We have settled the balances to the govt. We are only waiting for the closure order to be lifted. Hopefully on Friday we can (already) reopen,” said their FB message.
A copy of the order said the City Legal Office issued a notice against the establishment on February 21, 2018 because of the owners failure to settle their local business and amelioration tax dues and other charges with City Hall.
The bistro that serves Filipino dishes was also found to be operating even in the absence of a business permit.
“In view of the foregoing, you are hereby ordered to close the operation of your business immediately upon receipt hereof (and) until such time that you can comply with all the requirements for operating a business as mandated,” said Osmeña’s May 2 order.
“The order is without prejudice to the filing of appropriate criminal charges against you,” it added.