City council okays law vs obstruction of Baguio waterways

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY  – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance penalizing the illegal disposal of refuse, excrement and excreta; removal or destruction of receptacles for refuse; and illegal obstruction of waterways and dumping into bodies of water; requiring certain persons, institutions and establishments to provide for receptacles for refuse, to keep surroundings clean and to pick up litters, providing for amnesty from prosecution and amending for the purpose Sections 472, 475 and 479 of Ordinance No. 500, series of 1935, as amended by Ordinance Nos. 252, 264, 572 and 601.

            The ordinance authored by Vice Mayor Faustino A. Olowan and Betty Lourdes F. Tabanda states that violators of the aforesaid violations will be fined P2000 for the first offense and P3,000 for the second and subsequent offenses.

            Establishments found violating the same shall be fined P3,000 with a warning for the first offense, P4,000 and suspension of business permit for 30 days for the second offense, and P5,000 and revocation of business permit for the third offense.

            The ordinance stipulates that violators, whether individuals or establishments, of any provisions shall be informed of their specific violations and the penalty associated with it by means of a citation ticket system with prescribed guidelines such that official booklets of citation tickets shall be issued by the City Treasurer to duly authorized enforcers within 90 calendar days of the effectivity of the measure; a citation ticket shall be issued to the persons liable for any violation of the measure upon finding of the violation by duly authorized enforcers; a citation ticket shall contain information on the checklist of the violations, the fines associated with each violation, option to render community service in case violator is unable to pay fine, and due date of compliance with the obligations imposed by the ticket; when a citation ticket is issued to a violator, the violator shall report to the City Treasury Office or its duly authorized collection agent within 5 regular business days after such issuance whether he or she shall either pay the fine imposed or render community service; and the City Treasury office shall keep a duplicate of all citation tickets issued to violators as well as all other records of violations of the measure.

            The ordinance designates the City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO), the City General Services Office and City Treasury Office, to be the lead departments in the  strict implementation of the proposed city legislative measure, with the said offices to formulate the required implementing rules and regulations in consultation with the City Health Services Office on the issues affecting the implementation of the same.

            The ordinance states that personnel from the City Treasury Office, Baguio City Police Office, the barangay officials or their agents, barangay tanods, Public Order and Safety Division, sanitary inspectors, other personnel from the City Health Services Office and other agents and private individuals that may be assigned shall be deputized by the City Mayor to implement the provisions of the measure.