OPPOSITION City Councilor Leon Gan on Friday, June 22, said there is a need for the City Council to enact an ordinance against loitering to legally allow law enforcers to arrest loiterers or ‘tambays’ in the city as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Gan said he favors the Duterte administration's crackdown against tambays who violate local ordinances. He said this will help ensure the safety and protection of the people and deter crimes.
The City Council has yet to pass an ordinance on loitering apart from the Comprehensive Children's Welfare Code of 2018 and the Parental Responsibility Code of Cagayan de Oro City.
Section 27 of the Comprehensive Children's Welfare Code provides that 'No person below 15 years old shall roam, wander around, stand-by, or loiter in around market places, restaurants, cafes, bars, nightclubs, cocktail lounges, massage clinics, beer houses, discotheque joints or saloons, cabarets, or liquor stores, gambling places, plazas, parks, recreation halls, billiard halls, parlors, bowling alleys, theater lobbies, sidewalks, hotels, and all other similar establishments, after 10:00 p.m. and before 5:00 a.m."
The provision, however, excludes the eve of the town fiesta, Charter Day, and other local holidays for the city, Christmas, New Year, All Souls Day, All Saints Day, Good Friday, Holy Thursday up to the resurrection day immediately following, or those who have just attended in and are going home from school classes, civic or religious gatherings or social occasions.
Also, Chapter IV, section 8 of the Parental Responsibility Code stipulates the criminal liability attached to any parent having parental authority and responsibility who "allows a child to loiter in public places or outside their residence between the restriction hours of 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. as prohibited under the Comprehensive Children's Welfare Act, provided further that three instances, not necessarily consecutive, shall constitute as a punishable offense."
"In consonance with the order of the president, there is a need for us to enact an ordinance for that purpose," Gan said.
However, the minority floor leader said a public consultation must be initiated first before passing the ordinance.
Gan said all stakeholders must be invited such as the social welfare office, parents, academe, the business sector, and the police, among others.
Gan said the ordinance should define and describe “tambays” to avoid human rights violations.
"Kung naay ordinansa walay problema ang pag-aresto pero in the absence it cannot be implemented because that will be a violation of our Constitution and civil rights (If there is an ordinance the arrests would not be a problem.But in the absence of one it can not be implemented because that would violate our Constitution and our civil rights)," Gan said.
Gan said he would likely deliver a special report urging the legislative body to pass an ordinance and refer the matter to the committee on youth which will be chaired by the SK federation president who sits as an ex-oficio member and committee on education.