De Oro Shops,Malls Close In Protest

CAGAYAN DE ORO City – A business shutdown has turned this city’s busiest commercial district into a virtual ghost town Tuesday as private offices, stores and malls closed shop to press for the ouster of a Bureau of Internal Revenue official here.

The protest action, dubbed “Sara Protesta,” was launched by major business players to seek the ouster of Northern Mindanao BIR regional director Mustapha Gandarosa, who they accused of “harassment” and of being arbitrary.

Among those who participated in the protest are the owners of Gaisano and Limketkai Malls. Businessmen, who closed their respective establishments, said they were forfeiting millions of pesos in expected revenues during the one-day shutdown.

All stores along Osmeña and Velez Streets, the city’s central district, were closed.

Few transactions

Finance institutions, such as banks and lending offices, and gasoline outlets had been exempted from the protest movement but only a few people were seen transacting with them.

Regional branches of Manila-based corporations also did not participate in the shutdown.

Lawyer Oscar Musni, spokesperson of the Coalition of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the protest paralyzed over 90 percent of the local industry.

“The coalition has no intention to paralyze the local economy but to dramatize its concern to put a stop to harassment against business by Director Gandarosa,” he said.

Mayor Constantino Jaraula has also allowed city hall employees to report for work on their chosen schedules as a show of sympathy to the protest.

In a position paper, the coalition said Gandarosa had been “issuing hundreds of Letters of Authority (LAs) and Mission Orders (MOs) to conduct tax examination on the heels of the annual tax audit.”

Loud and clear

Businessman Emerson Cruz, a member of the coalition, called the protest a “first in the country.”

“We haven’t seen this kind of unity from business. They (businessmen) are sacrificing a lot in doing this protest. This should also be an eye opener to the government…that we can stand up against corruption. We need change,” Cruz said.

Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Rodolfo Meñes said “even if we don’t march on the streets, the business holiday sends the message loud and clear.”

“What we are doing is passive resistance. This is merely for self-defense,” Meñes said.

Jaraula said a dialogue between the traders and Gandarosa last week failed when officials of the chamber of commerce did not show up.

He also told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Gandarosa had been summoned to Manila apparently to discuss the situation with his superiors.

“Before he left, I asked Director Gandarosa to suspend all MOs and LAs that he issued,” Jaraula said.

But Musni said the issuance of MOs and LAs have continued, thus the decision of the businessmen to push through with the protest.