Bar and restaurant owners in La Trinidad, Benguet are requesting the municipal council and the provincial board of Benguet to pass a rental holiday ordinance to help them cope with losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a petition dated July 16, restobar operators explained the need for their exclusion from paying rent since the declaration of the quarantine on March 13, as they remained closed until now.
They said all of them are renting in buildings or from landowners.
“Due to the closure of our business, we did not earn any income for the past months, and yet we will be required by the building and landowners to pay monthly rentals,” the petition stated.
The businessmen said they have suffered huge losses for the past four months of not operating their businesses.
“While we can individually negotiate with our lessors to write off rentals for the past months that we are not operating, there is no guaranty that our requests will be granted,” the petition added.
The business operators asked the municipal council to “aggressively and actively formulate an ordinance which will exempt restobars, videoke bars, and other businesses prevented from fully operating during the quarantine.
“We are simply appealing for fairness and compassion from the building and landowners, through the local government unit, to see our predicament,” the petition reads.
The business owners have requested the municipal council for the rental holiday to cover the start of the quarantine on March 13 until such time they are allowed to fully operate. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 26, 2024
