CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/7 April) — An inspection of girlie bars and drinking joints here Friday night by police and local officials revealed that many entertainers were working without the required health permits.
The city-wide crackdown also targeted establishments operating without business permits and drinking joints selling beer to minors.
One person was arrested for alleged direct assault on the inspecting police officers and officials but later released.
“At the moment we are issuing violation citations to all the establishments. In our next sweep, we will be conducting arrests,” Councilor Eric Salcedo of the Regulatory Complaints Board said.
Salcedo said the establishments have a week to comply with the business permit requirement and other public documents.
Police officers, officials from the City Treasurer’s Office, City Health Office, and City Social Welfare Department swooped on drinking joints along Corrales Avenue in this city.
They also targeted strip and girlie bars along Capistrano Street, which has become Cagayan de Oro’s premier red light district.
City Information Officer Maricel Casino Rivera said that of the 35 drinking joints inspected along Corrales Avenue, only five were found to have business permits.
Rivera said 30 bars were found operating without business permits issued by the city government.
“The city lost P80,000 to P100,000 in permit fees a year,” she said.
City social welfare chief Teddy Sabugaa said most of these bars were found selling beer and slushy drinks to minors and many of these establishments have unclean and unsanitary comfort rooms.
“The comfort rooms of these bars are smelly, dirty and filled with roaches,” Rowena Yu of the City Health Office said. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)