A major poultry producer in Leyte province filed a damage claim for P195.24 million against a former mayor of Palompon town as a result of the respondent’s 2021 order preventing the delivery of day-old chicks to San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI).
Legal counsel Gerentstein Banzon, representing DBSN Farms Agriventures Inc., cited as respondents former Palompon mayor Myra Georgina Arevalo and other town officials. The complaint also sought settlement of P100,000 in lawyer’s fees and another P100,000 for litigation expenses.
DBSN is the first in Eastern Visayas to have a fully-automated breeder farm, and the largest of its kind in terms of egg production.
DBSN manager Rodante Bien Cabello alleged in the complaint that the former mayor denied the issuance of a business permit to the poultry firm despite the submission of documentary requirements. “Since its operation sometime in late 2019, DBSN chicken breeder division has been issued the necessary business permit by the Office of the Mayor of Palompon, Leyte,” Cabello told the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Baybay City, Leyte.
“As a matter of fact, defendant former Mayor Arevalo has likewise issued the business permit for 2020 to herein plaintiff,” Cabello said.
Cabello said, however, the respondent denied the renewal of the business permit dated Jan. 25, 2021. This prompted DBSN to file a petition for certiorari, mandamus, prohibition with prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the official.
Cabelo said Arevalo also issued a cease-and-desist order against the DBSN operation, disallowing the transport or the chicks, worth millions of pesos, to the DBSN client. The company said in its complaint the prohibition to transport eggs resulted in losses amounting to more than P195 million.
The Palompon RTC on Feb. 23, 2021, granted DBSN’s petition for the issuance of TRO, inhibiting the mayor from enforcing the cease-and-desist order, with an extension period of 17 days.
