Street gangs banned in Baguio/ Satellite business processing/ Peaceful holidays

CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- Residents were reminded on the existence of an ordinance prohibiting the establishment and operation of street gangs and recruitment of minors to instigate violence and community disorder in the city.
    Adapted in December 2021, Ordinance No. 99 series of 2021 prohibits the following: creation and operation of street gang that vehemently disregards the safety and well-being of an individual; recruitment of persons including minors to participate in street gang violence; instigation on the conduct of gang graffiti; and other activities that disturb public order and threatens public safety and convenience.
    The ordinance was adapted to address activities of street gangs and similar groups taking advantage of misguided minors, children at risk and children in conflict with the law and use and expose them to violence and illegal activities that turn them into juvenile delinquents, unruly citizens and future burdens of society.
    Penalties for adult violators of the measure are a fine of P5,000 or imprisonment of 1 to 30 days or both.
Minor offenders are subject to intervention mechanisms put in place under the Comprehensive Local Juvenile Intervention Program formulated by the
    The Local Council for the Protection of Children which is taking the lead in the implementation of the provisions of the ordinance.
    Mayor Benjamin Magalong said the city needs to sustain the intensive implementation of the ordinance to stop violent incidents especially those involving minors.
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The city government through the City Treasury Office and the Business Permit and Licensing Office set up a satellite Business One-Stop Shop (BOSS) at City Hall at a mall here to provide an alternative venue for businessmen to process their business licenses.
    Located between Cinemas 3 and 4, the offsite BOSS at the mall is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays from January to March.
    While SM opens at 10 a.m., an arrangement was made for business permit applicants to be allowed entry at 8 a.m.
    "Applicants may just tell the guards at the entrance fronting the grocery area that they will process their permit at the BOSS and they will be accommodated," Permits and Licensing Officer Allan Abayao advised.
    Abayao said the offsite processing scheme was implemented to decongest the BOSS at City Hall and avoid overcrowding and long queues.
    The main BOSS is located at the City Treasury Office One-Stop Shop.
    As of Jan. 4, 2024, the city has processed a total of 607 permit renewal, 13 new business applications, one new business line, one new management, one retirement of business line and 19 full retirement of business.
    Abayao reminded that business permit application is available online via the eBPLS Portal at ebpls.baguio.gov.ph .
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Mayor Magalong said the city's yuletide celebration turned out to be peaceful and orderly thanks to the efforts of law enforcers and the community.
    "Overall, we had a great holiday season in our city with the different colorful and joyful activities that were staged and the various attractions that were offered for enjoyment of all," the mayor said.
    He commended the Baguio City Police Office for the success of its anti-criminality efforts and the community for its cooperation during the entire Christmas season.
    He said the city's crime volume for the entire duration decreased by as much as 56 percent when compared to last year owing to the BCPO's aggressive crime prevention campaign.
    He said the traffic problems encountered were also minimal after adjustments and measures were adopted learning from the bad experience the city had on the first weekend of the month.
    BCPO Director Col. Francisco Bulwayan Jr. affirmed that the city's total crime volume during the Christmas rush from Dec. 21-31 significantly dropped by 56.47 percent or 48 cases from the figure for the same period last year.
    He cited data from the Crime Information Reporting and Analysis System (CIRAS) showing a 33.3 percent decrease in focus crimes, including serious offenses like murder, robbery and rape.
    "This positive trend reflects the city's successful efforts in curbing major criminal activities," he said.
    He said non-index crimes including various illegal acts also decreased by 14.29 percent while special law violations dropped by 72.73 percent.
    "The detailed breakdown emphasizes the city's success in addressing both major and minor offenses showcasing a huge improvement in public safety compared with the same period last year," Bulwayan said.
    Bulwayan said that traffic incidents also decreased by 59.38 percent.
    "Based on the experience of traffic gridlock we had at the start of the month, we made adjustments and adopted strategies to avoid a repeat of the problem and we find these strategies very effective. There were traffic jams that happened but these did not last and were resolved in a short time," he said.