EDITORIAL - Drinking and going blind

So, City Hall has closed the resto bar called Kuerks. Why? The official line is that it lacked certain permits and payments. But nobody knew about that. What everybody knows is that it was the site of an ugly brawl in which a Cebu City councilor figured prominently.

If Kuerks had been deficient in several things, it should be a safe bet that dozens, if not hundreds of other like establishments must be just as deficient. But will the city crack down on them too? Or will it stay with Kuerks?

The problem with the closure, even if warranted, is that it was clearly a knee-jerk reaction to the controversy. The city was afraid that from the brawl and the councilor, the controversy would blow up into so many other things.

For instance, why was Kuerks allowed to operate in the first place when it is clearly within earshot of a big school, a clear violation of a city ordinance. Yet, when the city closed Kuerks, it was never for this violation but for its supposed deficiencies involving, of all things, money due the city.

Must it always be money that makes everyone sit up and notice? Had Kuerks not been deficient in these areas, would the city have closed it anyway on account of its being within earshot of a school. That is very doubtful, however.

One does not need another brawl to know that Cebu City is littered with watering holes that are just as near to schools as is Kuerks. In fact, there is one Catholic school run by nuns that is almost completely surrounded by drinking places.

To be sure, some of these places are masquerading as dining places. But everybody knows, including every living soul working in City Hall, that drinks are served in these places, with the food coming as just an afterthought.

Maybe these places are being tolerated because the current and previous mayors are both known to have no aversion against drinking. And maybe too, these places are very generous in a variety of ways. Generosity, after all, can sometimes make people see differently, if they ever see at all.