Osmeña closes eatery operating as gay bar

The city government has closed yesterday the operation of what was supposed to be an eatery but turned out to be a gay bar in barangay Guadalupe.

The closure order, which was signed by Mayor Tomas Osmeña the other day, stated that Club Notes gay bar violated several laws when its operator indicated in the application for business permit that the establishment was supposed to be an eatery.

"A routine inspection conducted by the Inspection Team of the Tax Mapping of Business Establishment Section of the Cebu City Treasurer's Office reveals that you have been operating a business under the style and name of Club Notes Gay Bar, in blatant violation of laws and Cebu City Ordinances," the order reads.

The establishment allegedly operated without a business permit and had allegedly falsified the official documents when it applied as an eatery but subsequently operated as a gay bar.

"Such as but not limited to your assertion that your business establishment is operating as an eatery as alleged therein, whereas in truth and in fact, you are actively and notoriously operating a gay bar- this is in direct violation of your own undertaking with the City of Cebu that the information you supplied therein are true and correct to the best of your belief and knowledge," the order reads.

The establishment also allegedly violated the Liquor Licensing Code of the city after it was found out that it sold liquor "in absolute and literal proximity to an educational institution." The gay bar stands directly beside a school.

Likewise, its failure to issue registered invoices and receipts by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and use only of order slips for goods sold also violated the city's tax ordinance.

In a letter to the city treasurer, Christopher Ong of the Revenue Generation Task Force said that upon inspection on May 26, they saw a center stage with two showers surrounded by sofas inside the establishment, a complete opposite of its application for an eatery.

The inspection was conducted following a letter by Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera stating that she received several complaints against the operation of the gay bar in the area.

However, Osmeña said the establishment was locked-up for its failure to comply with the legal documentary requirements and that a gay bar operating near a school is not necessarily a violation in itself. - Joeberth M. Ocao