Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte defended the local government’s closure of the Rotary Community Center along Roces Avenue last Friday, 26 December.

Belmonte said the facility will be converted into the Quezon City Community Center, accessible to all accredited civic organizations, including Rotary District 3780 and its various clubs, free of charge. She added that even some Rotary clubs were reportedly paying to use the building, which also houses a restaurant and other commercial facilities.

The Quezon City government cited the alleged absence of a business permit when it sealed the Rotary Center in Barangay Paligsahan.

According to a statement from the local government, the facility was built in 1996 after the city entered into a lease contract with Rotary International District 3780 on 30 June 1995. The contract allowed the group to use city-owned land for a symbolic fee of one peso per year.

The lease expired on 30 June 2020. A city inspection found that the Rotary Center Foundation Inc. (RCFI) was occupying and using the buildings without the city’s knowledge or consent. The statement also said the RCFI entered into agreements with private commercial establishments to use the buildings in exchange for payment or rent, without permits or authorization from the city.

The QC-LGU statement added that such activities are unauthorized and illegal, and that the city is committed to protecting public property and enforcing existing laws and ordinances.

The Quezon City Council also criticized the RCFI for misrepresenting a council resolution. The council said RCFI falsely claimed that Belmonte had refused to renew a lease “contrary to the Council’s directive.”

“The subject resolution merely authorized the Honorable Mayor to enter into the proposed agreement should she opt to do so, subject to her proper determination,” the council said. “The Quezon City Council has not directed the Honorable Mayor to enter into any lease agreement with RCFI. Public property belongs to the people of Quezon City.”