BAGUIO City Councilor Mylen Yaranon will be proposing for an increased penalty for violators of the anti-littering ordinance.

“What we are proposing for the amendment of the anti–littering ordinance is to increase the penalty to P1,500 and community service for the first offense, followed by P3,000 for the second offense and P5,000 for the third offense. However, with what we experienced during the recent Christmas holiday, we decided to place the penalty at P3,000 whether or not it is a first, second or third offense with no community service,” Yaranon said.

During the Christmas holidays, the government intensified its anti-littering campaign to contend with the garbage problem which worsened as more tourists spent their break in the summer capital.

“And if they know that the penalty is high then I think the people will think twice. I think this is already on first reading and hopefully the committee on environment will take this up,” Yaranon added.

During the first day of the intensified anti-littering campaign, December 28, 14 individuals were apprehended. Eight of the violators were residents, while six were tourists. They were issued citation tickets to pay their fines while others opted to render community service.

During the holiday season, General Service Officer Eugene Buyucan personally monitored the garbage disposal and collection along Session Road and called out establishments that are not observing the proper time of bringing out their garbage.

Lieutenant Colonel Radino Belly, Baguio City Police Office Police Community Relations and Public Information Officer Police reported that the anti-littering campaign resulted to the apprehension of a total of 49 violators from December 28 adding that the ordinance will be enforced not only during peak tourist season.