By MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City — The city government’s Permits and Licensing Division has released the original copy of the business permit of the city slaughterhouse operator, division acting head Marie Ann Biasca yesterday confirmed.
Biasca clarified that the business permit was neither missing nor lost.
It was handed over to City Legal Office (CLO) head Rayfrando Diaz to be deposited in court in connection with the petition for mandamus that AVM Bernardo Engineering filed against the city government, she said.
“At 3 p.m. of Aug. 29, the CLO turned over the permit to the Permits and Licensing Division,” said Biasca. “I called (AVM plant site manager Glorydee) Cometa that the permit is already available for release.”
Cometa said they retrieved the permit’s original copy only yesterday because she was informed about it late afternoon on Aug. 29.
“After several months of waiting, we finally have it in our hands,” she said.
Cometa and Atty. Marvin Tañada, legal counsel of AVM, sought for the permit’s original copy after receiving only a photocopy.
Tañada said he received on Aug. 28 a copy of the city government’s comment on AVM’s petition for mandamus stating that the business permit was attached to it.
They went to Regional Trial Court Branch 54, where the permit was allegedly deposited, but it was not there.
It turned out that “the court refused to receive the original copy because [it] wanted the business permit to be directly given by the city to AVM,” said Tañada.
Tomorrow, AVM will meet with the city government to discuss the consignation case that it filed against the latter, Tañada said./PN
