Court stops Cebu City mayor Osmeña from closing BDO branches

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña (CDN FILE PHOTO)

CEBU CITY— Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña cannot close down any Banco de Oro branches in Cebu City in the next two weeks.

The Regional Trial Court ordered a status quo on the operation of the BDO until March 6 following a closed door meeting between the lawyers of the bank and Cebu City Hall as well as the mayor during the hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

Judge Gilbert Moises of RTC Branch 18 urged the parties to negotiate and reach an amicable settlement on the issue.

The next hearing on the petition filed by the BDO was set on Feb. 27.

The bank filed a petition, asking the court to compel Osmeña to act on its pending application for a business permit after the mayor announced that he would not renew the permit of BDO after he filed a case against the bank’s Magallanes-Plaridel branch for allegedly under-declaring its gross annual income in 2016.

He also hinted that he would close down all 26 branches of the BDO in Cebu City after he ordered to put on hold their applications for renewal of business permits.

The court then issued a 72-hour temporary restraining order and then extended it until March 6 pending resolution of the petition to issue a preliminary injunction.  SFM

FILE PHOTO