Establishments with dirty frontages face closure

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza warned establishment owners in the city they face closure and the revocation of their business permits for repeated failure to maintain cleanliness in front of their places of business.

Atienza issued the warning yesterday as he led a citywide clean-up drive and inspection of business establishments in Blumentritt yesterday in compliance with sanitation standards set by law.

Atienza was joined at Blumentritt in Sta. Cruz, Manila for the clean-up and inspection by 3rd district Rep. Miles Roces, personnel of the Manila Department of Public Services, barangay officials in the area and officers and members of the Association of Volunteer Fire Chiefs and Firefighters.

"The city government’s regular clean-up efforts under our Buhayin ang Maynila program would be rendered useless if business establishments in Manila do not do their share. We would not hesitate to shut down those who fail to comply with sanitation requirements," Atienza declared.

The city government’s regular clean-up efforts, aside from being part of Atienza’s urban renewal drive, is also intended to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and protect the health of the general public.

Atienza has ordered Engineer Rafael Borromeo, head of the Manila Department of Public Services, to serve formal notices to business establishments whose, frontages are dirty. Violators would be served a first notice, to be followed by a second one if they fail to comply with sanitation requirements three days after the receipt of the first notice, and a final public notice to be posted in front of erring business establishments if they still fail to clean up the frontage of their establishments three days after the issuance of the second notice.

Failure to comply within three days after the serving of the third and final notice would result in the closure of the erring business establishment and the revocation of their business permit by the Business Promotion and Development Office (Bureau of Permits).

Former Councilor Rino Tolentino, who currently heads the Business Promotion and Development Office, has also been directed by Atienza to immediately revoke the business permits and cause the closure of erring business establishments upon receipt of the appropriate endorsements from the Manila Department of Public Services.

Cleanliness is maintained throughout the city with the deployment of street and sidewalk cleaners and the daily collection of garbage, sometimes even twice a day in commercial areas that generate a high volume of solid waste.