BACOLOD City Councilor Caesar Distrito will hold a committee hearing this month for the proposed creation of 'tambay'(street loiterer) or loafers ordinance in the city.
Distrito, chairperson of the City Council committee on laws, said yesterday they received a request from Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) to make an ordinance to regulate the “tambays.”
“Let’s get the sentiments of our residents first on the proposed creation of ‘tambay’ ordinance because here in Bacolod, we have to consider that loitering in public or the anti-vagrancy law was already decriminalized,” he said.
Distrito noted that under the anti-vagrancy law, any person is disallowed loitering around the city with no purpose.
“For me, before we act, we cannot just say that we will approve it immediately, but we have to consider also the rights of our constituents especially that this will not violate the decriminalization of anti-vagrancy law,” Distrito said.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier announced that the country should be cleansed of “tambays” to lessen the crime and maintain peace and order.
Distrito said they will invite the 61 barangays, personnel of Commission on Human Rights, BCPO and cluster head of peace and order.
Meanwhile, Distrito also cautioned the BCPO that they cannot just arrest the anti-smoking violators, but they can only issue citation tickets for the penalty.
He said if the violators fail to pay their penalties, that is the time the policemen can arrest them with the issuance of an arrest warrant by the court.