Sixteen karaoke bars in Lapu-Lapu City were shut down for operating without business permits and for violating the city’s anti-noise ordinance.
Nine establishments got the closure order Friday night while seven received the order last week.
Antonio Utrera, task force head of the City’s Advocacy for Responsible Enterprise (CARE), served the closure orders which were reviewed by Mayor Paz Radaza.
The task force which inspected the establishments under the new bridge in barangay Pusok found them violating Ordinance No. 117-2002 which regulates the commercial use and operation of “karaoke, videoke, sing-along, minus one, music box, other similar machines or contraptions.”
The bars had been warned several times before to comply with the ordinance especially the provision which states that the volume of noise be reduced by 10 p.m.
Some of the bars had business permits but these were revoked since the permit states that it can be revoked “any time for violations of any laws, rules and regulations without any need for further written order from the city.”
The 16 bars were ordered closed effective immediately.
Miraflor Alegado, owner of Myra’s Videoke under the new bridge, was upset. She said she was not warned and she met Utrera only once.
She said she would complain against what she said was an unfair closure order. The three-room establishment was full of customers when the closure order was served by the task force assisted by police and barangay tanods.
Utrera denied that the task force only showed up once.
“We kept coming here to remind them to comply with the city ordinance because of complaints we received but they just laughed at us,” Utrera said.
Of the the nine videoke bars under the bridge, one had no business permit. Of the seven videoke bars along Maximo Patalinghug Avenue that were closed, four had no permits.
The Task Force CARE also monitors Internet cafés, billiard halls and dart halls that accommodate students during class hours.