BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The city government has ordered the closure of 40 boardinghouses for operating without the necessary permits.
Personnel from the city’s Investment Services, Business Permit, and Licensing Division, along with the Boarding House Commission, initiated the crackdown following a fire that damaged seven boardinghouses and resulted in the deaths of two boarders in Barangay San Nicolas, La Paz district, on Feb. 18.
The boardinghouse, where the two boarders perished in the fire, owned by Rocky Gordon, lacked permits, according to the Business Process and Licensing Division (BPLD). It also reportedly had faulty electrical wiring and a defective fire exit.
Thirty boardinghouses were ordered to cease operations in the La Paz district; seven in the Mandurriao district, and three in the Jaro district.
“We are very serious about ensuring the well-being of our boarders. Closure orders will be issued for all businesses without permits,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
The closure orders have elicited mixed reactions from transients and boardinghouse owners. The Boarding House Commission has required them to obtain permits to operate legally. The affected transients were given at least three days to move to boardinghouses with valid permits.
The closed boardinghouses were cited for violations of Regulation Ordinance No. 00-01, known as the Ordinance Regulating the Operation of Boarding Houses in the City.
Section 2 of the ordinance states, “No person shall own, keep, maintain, operate, or conduct any house or place for the accommodation of boarders or bed spacers for compensation or rent without first obtaining a mayor’s permit, and passing sanitary and fire safety inspections, and paying the required fees.”
Mayor Treñas instructed the Economic Development and Investment Promotion (LEDIP), Iloilo City Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO), and the Boarding House Commission to conduct inspections and submit reports.
Records from the BPLD indicated that of the seven affected boardinghouses, two had failed to renew their permits, while three had been operating without any permits at all./PN
