Higher Penalty for Violators of Anti-Smoking Law Takes Effect

The Davao City government will start imposing a higher penalty for violators of the Anti-Smoking Ordinance of Davao City that has been amended last year by the 19th City Council and approved by Mayor Inday Sara Duterte in January.

Under the amended law, particularly on penalties, the penalty for the first offense is now P2,000 from P1,000; P3,000 from P2,500 for the second offense; and, P5,000 for the third and succeeding offenses.

In Section 10 or the No Contest Provision, the person liable who is apprehended or cited for violating the prohibited acts and does not wish to contest will be allowed to voluntarily pay an administrative penalty of P1,000 from P500.

Doctor Ashley Lopez, the Head of the Vices Regulation Unit (VRU), said the city had pushed for the higher penalty last year after noticing the increasing number of violators every year.

“There are people who have been habitually violating the law – same person kay maka-afford na man gud sila mobayad og 500 pesos for the citation including the penalties (There are people who have been habitually violating the law – the same person because they can afford to pay P500),” Lopez said.

Lopez said his office was hoping smokers especially minors would decide to quit smoking with the increase of fines.

In its record, the VRU has apprehended an average of 10,000 violators per year since 2017 and collected around P8.1 million in penalties in 2019, the highest collection made by the city government from anti-smoking violations.

As of March 2020, the VRU has already collected a total amount of P1,771,200 in penalties.

Lopez said the VRU is strictly implementing the anti-smoking ordinance 24/7, especially under the current situation.

“Niubos ang mga apprehensions because of restrictions and closure of stores, pero wala gyud mi niundang. Enforcement is still on-going 24/7 (The apprehensions decreased because of restrictions and the closure of stores but the enforcement did not stop. It is on-going 24/7),” he said. (City Information Office – Davao City)