Loud, live band music in Kuerks plays on despite stop order

Except for the inspection of ID cards, it was business as usual at the Kuerks resto bar in Pelaez Street, Cebu City last Friday night.

Cebu Daily News visited the watering hole, a favorite hangout of students, some of whom flashed their ID cards to security personnel to show they weren’t minors.

When one of the waiters was asked if there was a live band performing that night, he said the “GIC” band or “Gerry Carillo’s band” was scheduled to go on stage before 10 p.m.

Sure enough, a female vocalist in shorts and a tank top went on stage with a male singer for their first number, a Lifehouse song entitled “Wherever You Will Go” that was greeted with cheers from patrons who filled the tables.

A cease-and-desist order was issued this week against Kuerks by the City Legal Office which prohibited the restobar from using live bands until they secure a mayor’s permit and lower their noise levels.

The order came following complaints from the nearby GV Hotel and the University of San Carlos about the loud noise generated by live band performances and the presence of minors drinking liquor in the restobar.

However, it was business as usual on Friday night, a peak for customers.

Each table was occupied with four or five patrons. Customers were invited to go on stage and jam with the band.

Most of the waiters and other crew wore black campaign shirts with “Type O” printed at the back and “Gerry Carillo, #5” in front.

A sign posted outside the establishment read: “No Uniform, Minor, and Sando (undershirt) Allowed.”

At 11 p.m, the revelry was interrupted by the arrival of a team from the City Treasurer’s Office and policemen.

Juanita Monina Paieres, tax mapping division chief, went inside and talked with a woman who presented some papers but no business permit.

The band stopped playing and customers watched silently as the team spent 20 minutes conducting their inspection.

Paieres told Cebu Daily News that three teams were conducting saturation drives in night spots in Cebu City to check if they were selling liquor to minors. But she didn’t seem aware of the cease-and-desist order about noise levels and live band in Kuerks.

Paieres said the Kuerks restobar violated City Ordinance 1413 which prohibits the sale of liquor by outlets located 100 meters away from schools or universities, hospitals, and churches.

After the team left, the band no longer played but patrons continued to hang around and drink.

More than 10 round tables clustered near the stage with about 20 square tables farther on.

The menu listed 25 kinds of liquor. The most expensive was “Fundador Brandy” for P800 and the cheapest was P85 for a bottle of Tanduay GSM and Jamaica.

Pulutan or bar food ranged from a plate of peanuts to crispy pata (crisp fried pork).

A bottle of Stallion beer costs P60 while five bottles cost P250.

The Kuerks restobar became controversial after Cebu City Councilor Gerard Carillo was accused of bashing a teenager on the head with a rock after he tried to mediate between two rival youth gangs in the bar last Sunday evening.