VIOLATORS, beware.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will start apprehending violators of the city ordinance that prohibits smoking, spitting and urinating in public places and the indiscriminate throwing of garbage, among others, on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.
After the culmination of the three-day dry run of Oplan Disiplina on Friday, Sept. 30, the CCPO will start implementing the program on Oct. 1.
The Oplan Disiplina program imposes strict discipline among the residents of the city.
Police Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla said the program is a coordinated effort between the police and the Cebu City Government.
He said many ordinances in the City Council had been left idle and these can already be implemented this time through the Oplan Disiplina.
“There are many existing ordinances in the City Council that have not been implemented, so we are now revisiting and checking all the ordinances so these can be implemented,” Parilla said in Cebuano.
Under City Ordinance 1361, spitting, urinating or defecating in public; failing to clean one’s surroundings; failing to provide proper waste receptacles; and posting graffiti, posters and handbills, among others, are prohibited.
Ordinance 1895, meanwhile, prohibits smoking tobacco in non-smoking or smoke-free establishments such as entertainment centers, educational and learning centers, places of worship, government offices, health and medical centers, and other zones whether publicly or privately owned.
Violators will render community service as a penalty, said police.
Parilla said the program will be implemented with the help of barangay officials.
Parilla admitted that one of the problems they have seen in the barangays, especially in the interior portions, is the indiscriminate throwing of garbage.
“The barangay officials and the BPSO are also authorized to issue citations. Many hardheaded violators are there in the interior portions. This would be a challenge to our barangay officials since they would also be given authority by the mayor to implement the program in their barangay,” he said.
The CCPO also requested the City Government to install CCTV cameras in major thoroughfares to monitor traffic accidents and other criminal activities like what Davao City did. (TPT)