THE Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) of Sablan town in Benguet passed a resolution requesting the Municipal Council to enact an ordinance to totally ban selling of cigarettes in the municipality.
Incumbent Mayor and vice mayor-elect Arthur Baldo said the resolution for the total ban covers the sale of cigarette and tobacco products in the town.
"There are alleged reports that students and pupils are seen smoking near the school premises but [were] reported to the police authorities. The council wanted to boost the campaign of the municipality by banning the selling of cigarette to protect those person who are no yet inclined to smoking," the resolution read.
The resolution added the Sablan MAC, chaired by the mayor, serves as an advisory body to the Municipal Police Station to support the Philippine National Police's (PNP) quest to oversee the implementation of the PNP Integrated Transformation Program-Performance Government System (PNP ITP PGS), which aims to make good governance a shared responsibility of the PNP and various stakeholders.
Sablan MAC is composed of the mayor as the chair with the different representatives from the local government unit, and with the different sectors involving the youth, senior citizen, women's, business, non-government organization and the academe.
In 2017, Sablan and Benguet's capital town of La Trinidad were awarded the Red Orchid Award for their active implementation of the No Smoking Ordinance.
Red Orchid Awards was conceptualized to combat tobacco use and to work for a tobacco-free environment and with the Department of Health awarding institutions, hospitals and local government agencies in Luzon for implementing 100 percent smoke-free environment.