Yangot files proposal to regulate Baguio busking

By Jordan G. Habbiling

BAGUIO CITY -- Councilor Leandro Yangot, Jr. has revived his proposed ordinance seeking to regulate the conduct of busking in the city.
    It was first proposed in 2017 but has not reached the third and final reading.
    The proposal was approved on first reading by the current Baguio City Council during its regular session on July 18, 2022.
    Yangot said there is a need to regulate busking in Baguio.
    “The number of street performers in the city is apparently increasing and while it serves as an added attraction to the public as well local and foreign tourists, regulating this activity is imperative,” Yangot said.
    The ordinance, once enacted, would protect the buskers from being apprehended for mendicancy or “panhandling.”
    Under the proposed ordinance, buskers are required to secure a permit from the Permits and Licensing Division with a permit fee of P350.00. The permit fee shall be at the discretion of the city mayor and subject to change.
    One permit may be issued for a group performance of up to a maximum of three performers. Larger groups shall require a special permit.
    The proposal specified that no group of performers of three or less as identified as such in their permit shall be charged more than P350.00
    The permit shall be valid for one year from the date it was issued and shall be displayed visibly by the busker while performing. 
    A street performance committee shall be formed and tasked to make sure that buskers in the city are following prescribed rules. 
    The committee shall consist of the city mayor as the chairperson, the city administrator as the co-chairperson, and the city treasurer, head of the Permits and Licensing Division, City Tourism Officer, chairperson of the Sanggunian’s Committee on Tourism, Special Events, Parks, and Playgrounds, and two representatives from the accredited street performers’ groups as members.
    The proposed ordinance seeks to prescribe guidelines in the conduct of busking in the city.
    According to the ordinance, all performances shall be reviewed for appropriate content and shall be subject to approval by the committee prior to the issuance of a street performance permit.

The ordinance stated that performers shall not be allowed to perform outside of areas designated by the street performance committee.

To perform in a private property, the performer must secure a written permission of the owner.

In public areas where an authorized street fair or public festival is being conducted, the performer must first seek permission from the sponsor of such fair/festival.

Performers shall in no way block roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, driveways, stairways, curb tuts, handicapped access ramps nor block access to buildings, parks, public conveyances, businesses, crosswalks, and traffic control poles containing pedestrian crosswalk buttons.

If a performer attracts a crowd sufficient to obstruct the public way, the police shall be allowed to disperse the portion of the crowd that is creating obstruction. The police officer shall not ask the performer to leave the locations unless efforts to move the crowd fail to adequately protect the public safety and restore order.

Performers shall not generate noise which exceeds the ambient noise level of 10 dBA or the allowable noise levels. A performer or a group of performers may use sound amplification as long as the resulting sound level is not exceeded.

Also, no performer or group shall perform less than 50 feet away from another performer/group.

Performances, according to the ordinance, shall take place at times determined by the committee, not to begin before 8 a.m. nor end after midnight. 

Request for donations shall be allowed as long as the sign requesting for such is the one approved by the committee. Donations may be received using any receptacle such as an open musical instrument case, box, or hat.

Performers shall be allowed to offer sale recordings of their own work in the form of records, cassettes, videotapes, or compact discs.

The proposed ordinance was referred to the city council’s committee on tourism, special events, parks, and playgrounds for review.