By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
HE chairman of the city council’s trade and commerce committee over the weekend announced an impending review of the business permits city hall issued to Oro Christian Grace School (OCGS) and other private institutions of learning in the city as an offshoot of the Jan. 30 accidental shooting at the Macasandig school.
The committee’s chairman, Councilor George Goking, said this as he expressed dissatisfaction over the outcome of last week’s joint meeting on the OCGS accidental shooting of the city council’s committees on public order and safety, women and family relations, and education.
Goking said the council’s trade and commerce committee would come in and look into whether or not OCGS is fit to do business.
He said the business permits city hall issued to other private schools would also be reviewed by the trade and commerce committee so that no one can say that one institution is being singled out.
“Pero unahon nato og review ang business permit sa OCGS kay diha man sa ila nahitabo ang accidental firing. Human ma-review nato ang ilang business permit i-review pud dayon nato ang business permits sa ubang eskuwelahan,” Goking said.
He said he was very disappointed to hear about the lapses in ensuring the safety of students inside the Macasandig campus, and on how the school handled the situation.
Goking said the trade committee would call for a meeting soon and OCGS officials would be summoned so they could explain why the school’s business permit should not be voided.
He said the trade committee would also summon the president of the association of private schools in the city, Parents-Teachers Association leaders, and officials of the police, military and Department of Education, among others.
Goking said that if the trade committee sees that there is a need to cancel OCGS’s business permit, then he would author a city council resolution that would formally ask Mayor Oscar Moreno to cancel it.
“We will follow a process and it would be up to the management of OCGS to convince us why they think they should be allowed to keep their business permit after everything that has happened,” he said.
