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GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The city government closed down a night club here following a shooting and stabbing incident early Tuesday morning that left two persons dead.
Geraldine Zamora, head of the business permits and licensing division, said City Mayor Ronnel Rivera ordered the revocation of the business permit and immediate closure of Xplore Bar along Ariola Street in Barangay Lagao due to the incident.
“This is on the grounds of disrupting peace and order and creating nuisance,” Zamora told reporters following the implementation of the order before noon.
Local government personnel, assisted by policemen, padlocked the entry points of the bar and posted a notice to the public regarding its closure.
Maj. Benhur Catcatan, Lagao police station chief, said an altercation in front of the bar around 2 a.m. involving several customers resulted in the killing of Jay Napalit and John Vincent Lopez.
One of the victims’ companions, whose identity was withheld for security reasons, said they were about to go home after a drinking session at the bar when they clashed with another group.
He said a brawl ensued, with Napalit eventually retreating towards the nearby National Food Authority compound. The other group reportedly pursued the victim and one of them shot him on the head.
Lopez was stabbed on the chest during the fracas and died while undergoing treatment at the Socsargen County Hospital.
Catcatan said a manhunt is ongoing against the suspects.
Zamora said the closure was not the first for the establishment and it was already shut down in the past due to similar violations.
In May, she said the village council issued a resolution requesting the establishment's closure due to a number of violent incidents.
But Zamora said the local government allowed the establishment to continue operating until its lease contract expires in November, with a condition that it should prevent the occurrence of such incidents.
“I think this is the end of it. The mayor is very firm on its closure,” she added. (PNA)
