spot_img
28.4 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Ex-Pampanga mayor’s food park stirs up QC dads

- Advertisement -

A QUEZON City councilor has criticized a former mayor of Sto. Tomas, Pampanga for the illegal construction of a food park in the upscale village of Loyola Heights.

In a privilege speech Tuesday, District 3 Councilor Don de Leon criticized former mayor Romeo Ronquillo when he blocked QC policemen and members of the city’s Department of Public Order and Safety who were set to apprehend the workers of his daughter, Ara Ronquillo, at the construction site of Park 33 at 31 Xavierville Avenue on April 24.

“Authorities were then implementing the cease-and-desist order issued by the Department of Building Official,” De Leon told fellow legislators and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, the council’s presiding officer.

Ronquillo or his daughter could not be contacted for comment at presstime.

The councilor said as early as last year, the Ronquillos, including Ara’s mother Gloria, put up the food park “in violation of the National Building Code, the lack of a barangay clearance and a building permit, the issuance of a cease-and-desist order from building official Isagani Verzosa, and the filing of a criminal case before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.”

- Advertisement -

Moreover, the owner failed to secure the approval of the city council’s committee on zoning, and that the food park owners never appeared for an administrative hearing despite repeated notices, De Leon said.

The place is classified as a residential area where food parks are not allowed, the councilor said.

“As I speak, the construction is still ongoing, with about 90 percent of completion,” De Leon stressed. “This establishment was strong enough to break ground without a barangay clearance, bold enough to construct without a building permit, and courageous enough to continue construction.”

He said Ronquillo’s violation of the law could set a bad precedent, and was an insult to the city government.

District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. said the matter could be resolved at the barangay level.

“I was a barangay chairperson in Bahay Toro. Based on my experience, we can take actions to confiscate building materials and stop the construction,” he said.

District 1 Councilor Anthony Peter “Onyx” Crisologo also said Barangay Loyola Heights chairperson Caesar Marquez must not allow Park 33 to operate business.

“Once the establishment starts its operation, that would set another problem,” he added.

District 2 Councilor Voltaire Godofredo Liban III asked what can QC’s Department of Building Official do “when its cease-and-desist order was ignored?”

District 5 Councilor Allan Butch Francisco then requested the endorsement of De Leon’s privilege speech to the committees on infrastructure and public works.

But District 2 Councilor Ranulfo Ludovica said he “could not settle for less” and pushed to sanction executive officials for their lapses to stop the construction of Park 33, while District 5 Councilor Godofredo Liban suggested to endorse the matter to the legal department.

De Leon urged Garry Domingo of the Business Permit and Licensing Office not to issue a business permit to the Ronquillos and order the restaurant’s immediate closure.

“We want a firm commitment from him (Domingo) that he is one with us,” he said, adding “we will invite him to the joint committee hearing to ensure that no business permit shall be issued.”

District 4 Councilor Irene Belmonte offered the transmittal of De Leon’s concerns to her committee on trade, commerce and industry.

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles