Yo Latino! Tom gives order to close bar of Ouanos

A bar owned by the children of Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano and some partners is among the two establishments that Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has ordered closed.

The reason for the closure is the failure of the owner of the property being leased by the establishment to comply with the Building Code of the city.

Yo Latino Bar and Restaurant is one of two establishments renting a property owned by DEN Development Corporation owned by Dolores Diez, who is reportedly related to Councilor Gabriel Leyson.

Osmeña said yesterday that he has given the go signal for closure orders to be issued against commercial establishments occupying a 230-square meter lot in Salinas Drive, barangay Lahug.

The other establishment that leases part of the property is Brescia Restaurant.

Although the establishments may not have directly violated rules, Osmeña said they are being affected by the alleged violation committed by the owner of the lot and building that they occupy.

What caught the city's ire is the construction of two more buildings in the parking space utilized by the commercial establishments. The construction of the additional structure had encroached into the parking area.

With fewer parking slots, the two establishments in the property now have failed to comply with the parking requirements stipulated in the city's building code.

In a text message sent to The Freeman, Yo Latino owner Emmarie 'Lollipop' Ouano-Dizon said, "As a building tenant, we are at the mercy of the building owner.

"Unfortunately, the building owner failed to comply with the requirements set by Cebu City. We would like to point out that as a building tenant we have complied with all the necessary permits of the City of Cebu. The lack of parking space has greatly affected our business. We respect the decision of Mayor Tomas Osmeña."

Last December 28, the Office of the Building Official sent to Yo Latino a notice of closure and asked for it to submit a sketch plan of the parking slots for their customers.

In a letter subsequently furnished to The Freeman, Yo Latino Bar and Restaurant operations supervisor Rodney Sebua, had said they shouldn't be made to suffer with whatever violation committed by the management of the property they are leasing because they are only a tenant.

The Yo Latino and the DEN Development Corporation has a standing contract for a five-years lease of the property at P40,000 a month.

Sebua said that before the establishment opened, they have complied all necessary requirements from the city government including the whether it had sufficient parking space, and they even have a mayor's business permit.

"This was a shock. Instead of questioning DEN Development Corporation for constructing without a building permit and for looking into the issue only now when the structure is practically complete. We are being made a fall guy. We are being made to look like the villain," Sebua said.

Sebua said Yo Latino has incurred losses because of the construction of two buildings that used to be the parking space.

In giving the go signal for the closures, Osmeña compared the case to that of Mango Square Commercial Complex wherein he also threatened to close the establishments due to the stalls that mushroomed at the complex's parking lot.

"The property owners should hold the responsibility... the law is very clear, if you do something like that is a violation and it would result to closure," Osmeña said.

Aside from Mayor Ouano's daughter Emmarie and her husband Jojo Dizon, others who co-own Yo Latino are Jonki and Alfie Ouano, and The Freeman columnist Joseph Gonzales.

Jonki is now being groomed as the next mayor of Mandaue City as his father is now on his third and last term as allowed by law.

Yo Latino and Brescia used to be located at The Village inside the Asiatown IT Park. It moved to its present location after The Village closed.