The Quezon City Government has ordered the closure of the five-story building of Rotary Club International 3780 after it was found operating without a valid mayor’s permit.

City authorities padlocked the building, located on Roces Avenue corner Mother Ignacia Street, past 9 a.m. on Wednesday, with the operation led by the City Legal Office and the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS). Steel barricades were also installed at the main entrance.

According to the city government, the building, constructed in 1997, has been operating despite the expiration of its lease contract in July 2020. Officials said the structure stands on public property and that both buildings on the site were funded by the local government.

Rotary Club 3780’s legal counsel, Atty. Scheherazade Miluhon objected to the closure, saying four employees were briefly trapped inside during the padlocking. She added that the organization had secured a 25-year lease through a city resolution but claimed the contract was never signed by the city government. She also said a petition for mandamus with a temporary restraining order was filed before the Court of Appeals on December 22.

DPOS Chief Ret. Gen. Elmo San Diego maintained that the city merely enforced a cease-and-desist order issued earlier, stressing that the closure was lawful.

The Quezon City government reiterated that the lease had long expired and emphasized its authority to reclaim and regulate public property.