4 more establishments found with fake permits

Four more businesses using fake permits were uncovered by the Cebu City Revenue Task Force, as an arrastre stevedoring establishment will be up for closure within the week.

Nanette Sungahid, head of the task force said that Cebu Arrastre and Stevedoring Services Corporation in Pier 3 will be closed today for failure to pay business taxes.

Sungahid said despite the demand letter sent to the management last August 17, the latter failed to settle its P745,340.023 business taxes since 2002 up to this year.

Christopher Ong, assistant head of the task force, said that the other four establishments found to have used fake business permits will be closed if they fail to execute an affidavit on how they were able to get such a permit.

Ong said if the affidavits are issued they will be forwarded to the National Bureau of Investigation for further investigation.

Two weeks ago, more than 70 fake business permits were uncovered by the task force, raising more suspicion that city hall employees are involved in the proliferation of fake permits.

Fifty persons have already executed affidavits pointing to two employees at the City Treasurer's Office as the ones responsible for the permits.

Ong said that their intensified drive against fake business permits continues as he expect more than 100 fake permits to be uncovered before yearend.

The mayor have been urging business owners to check their permits and report this immediately to the city before the city finds this out first.

He said that if the city will be the ones to discover the fake permits, the owner or proprietor will be fined as high as P400,000 and face closure of his or her establishment. - Mitchelle P. Calipayan