ALL IT TAKES IS POLITICAL WILL

I always take pride in saying that it is only in Davao where you can literally say that the environment is smoke free and the new year celebration is noise-free.

Two of the most successfully implemented local laws in the city of Davao are the banning of firecrackers and pyrotechnics and the banning of smoking in public places.

Passed in 2002, the Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance was an improvisation of a previous ordinance of the city which banned smoking in passenger vehicles plying the city route.

In this five-year old ordinance, the city government specifically identifies where the smoking is banned. These places include passenger vehicles in the city; accommodation and entertainment establishments like restaurants, bars, movie houses, hotels and places where people meet; government offices; parks and other places “controlled exclusively for public purposes by government agencies.”

The ordinance also specifically orders business establishments to set up their smoking zones which must be air-conditioned, at most about ¼ of the total accommodation area of the establishment, must have an exhaust fan, and must be separate from where smoking is prohibited.

Fines and Punishments

Under the ordinance, violators face the fine of between P500 to P2,000 or an imprisonment of between one to six months or both, depending on the discretion of the court.

Those establishments found violating the ordinance face the danger of being closed down.

This particular ordinance was passed even before the national government could implement its version, the Tobacco Regulations Act of 2003, better known as Republic Act 9211.

Despite the strong support of the citizenry, there were also many establishments and vendors who raised howl over the implementation of the ordinance citing the negative impact it will have on their businesses. Even the tourism groups were not supportive of the ordinance at first reasoning that this would discourage tourists from visiting the city.

The city government did not waver and after a time , the Dabawenyos appreciated the benefits of such ordinance and learned to live with it.

Several local government units in the country and in foreign countries have emulated the city by passing their own anti-smoking ordinances. In several discussion groups, the city earned praises from the other local government units who saw that its implementation was really intended to protect the welfare of the residents.

A QUIET NEW YEAR

Also passed in 2002, the Ordinance No. 060-02 is an ordinance that prohibits “the manufacture, sale, distribution, possession or use of firecrackers or pyrotechnic devices and such other similar devices and the exploding of firecrackers and other similar explosives within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City.”

The ordinance came about after Mayor Rodrigo Duterte realized that firecracker explosion during holidays, particularly during the Yuletide season, caused not only injuries on reckless residents but also on hapless individuals and that the fire crackers can even cause fire in so some instances.

This prompted the mayor to ask the city council to eventually pass the ordinance complete with the penalty clause.

Under the provision, someone who commits the offense for the first time faces a P1,000 fine or an imprisonment of between 20 days to a month or both depending on the discretion of the court.

Second time offenders face a stiffer penalty of P3,000 fine or imprisonment of between one month to three months, or both. Recidivists, however, face a larger fine of P5,000 or imprisonment of between three to six months.

Since the passage of the ordinance, hospitals in the city have been free of injuries caused by firecracker explosion and that the Bureau of Fire Protection reported no fire due to pyrotechnics.

Last Yuletide season, however, about 100 city residents, most of them young boys, were arrested for firecracker blasts. The number was higher compared with the previous years since the start of the implementation of the ordinance in 2002.

The increase in number of arrested residents came about after Mayor Duterte dangled a P1,000 bounty for those who could identify anyone exploding firecrackers in their neighborhoods.

Last year, some local government units have expressed their desire to regulate firecracker explosions, some of them have even proposed of emulating the city by passing a similar law despite the opposition of some individuals who peddle these destructive explosives.

The city’s successes in these two and other ordinances have made it one of the most recognized local government units not just in the country but in the world.

All it really takes is strong and consistent political will and a constituency that respects the law.

(Joji Ilagan Bian is a strong and respected advocate for the development of the island. She is Chair of Joji Ilagan Foundation , Phil. Call Centers Alliance, Mindanaeso Tech Voc Schools Association; Mindanao Rep, Export Development Council. Email comments jojibian2@yahoo.com)