DPWH rejects City Hall’s recon motion on cafe closure
THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) rejected the motion for reconsideration filed by Cebu City Hall’s Engineering Office on their closure of a restaurant along Don Gil Garcia Street in Barangay Capitol site on July 9 last year.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said there is “no cogent reason to disturb, overturn or set aside” his Nov. 9, 2015 order directing Acting City Engineering chief Jose Marie Poblete to issue the building and fencing permits to Camia Cafe.
“It is glaringly apparent that the Appellee Building Official did not conduct an inspection and a hearing in his capacity as such and merely relied on the Cebu City Zoning Board’s (CCZB) resolution,” Singson’s Jan. 25 order stated.
Singson’s order said any revocation must be based on the outcome of hearings and inspections conducted by the city’s building official “and not solely on the findings of another body which in this case is the CCZB, where he is a member.”
“It goes without saying that the appellee’s duties and responsibilities as a member of the CCZB are separate and distinct from his duties as a Building Official. Hence, the proceedings conducted under the CCZB must be considered as a mere ingredient of the indispensable proceedings of due notice and hearing of the Office of the Building Official,” the order stated.
Suspended Cebu City mayor Michael Rama ordered Camia Cafe closed, citing its owner Adrian Lee’s failure to comply with zoning and building requirements.
Poblete said he will have to refer Singson’s order to the City Legal Office and CCZB “and discuss with them the implications of the DPWH’s decision.”
“The point of the DPWH is we did not give due process although personally I don’t believe sakto sila (they are right). Not the permit per se is the issue but (the) lack of supporting document which no amount of due process can correct,” he said.
Poblete said the revocation of Camia Cafe’s building permit was a result of the zoning board’s revocation of the cafe’s local clearance.
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