Concerned by the mishaps that may occur on see through glass doors and panels installed in various buildings and facilities in the locality City Councilor Joel Alangsab has filed a proposed measure seeking to require building and facility owners to install reflectorized tapes and bright or eye-catching markers on all their glass doors and glass panels for the protection of the public.
In his explanation as provided for in the said proposed ordinance councilor Alangsab came up with the observation that some developers of buildings in the Baguio City have adopted glass doors and glass panels in their structural designs and that due to the transparency of these materials people have often made the mistake of accidentally running into them thinking that these are free and unblocked passageways or windows.
In justifying his proposal the alderman cited Section 458 (a) of Republic Act 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 which empowers the Sangguniang Panlungsod as the legislative body of the city to enact ordinances for the general welfare of the city and its inhabitants and shall among others: “(4) Regulate activities relative to the use of land buildings and structures within the city in order to promote the general welfare and for the said purposes shall: (i) declare, prevent or abate any nuisance.”
Alangsab added that such kind of accidents involving see through glass doors and glass panels pose danger to the life and limb of persons and could bring injury to the person when the glass breaks due to the heavy impact caused by the person running into it. He then pointed out that the proposed regulation if adopted will attempt to avoid future accidents by adapting protective measures for the safety of the public, especially among the elderly and the visually impaired.
Under the proposed legislative measure all business owners operating in the city with see through glass doors and glass panels installed in their establishments shall be required to install reflectorized tapes or eye-catching markers on the said glass doors and glass panels for the purpose of public safety. The said reflectorized tapes or eye-catching markers should be installed in such a way that they are clearly visible and can easily be noticed by people.
The proposed requirement shall be a pre-requisite prior to the issuance of a business permit or license to operate a business in the city.
For any violation of its provisions, the proposed regulation provides penalties in the amount of one thousand pesos for the first offense, two thousand pesos for the second offense and temporary closure of the establishment for the third offense.
In the realization of the propose regulation the Business Permit and Licensing Division of the City Mayor’s Office as well as the City Building and Architecture Office shall be tasked to see to its implementation and shall likewise formulate the implementing rules and regulations of the said regulation.