THE Cagayan de Oro City Government has created the Smoke-Free Task Force in a bid to strictly implement President Rodrigo Duterte's executive order 26 which bans smoking in public places nationwide.
City Administrator Teddy Sabuga-a said they plan to incorporate it with the city's intensified anti-tambay crackdown authorizing the police to arrest violators.
The city will implement the ban more than a year after it was signed by Duterte last May 2017.
The EO provides standards for a spot to be considered a designated smoking area (DSA), which may either be an open space or a separate area with proper ventilation.
The DSA shall have opening that would allow air to escape into smoke-free area of a building or conveyance, except for a single door equipped with an automatic door closer. It shall also have a non-smoking buffer zone.
The DSA is also barred from being located within 10 meters from entrances, exits, or any place where people pass or congregate, or in front of air intake ducts. There shall be no more than one DSA in a building, and the chosen area should bear proper signage.
The executive order bars the establishment of DSAs in schools, hospitals, clinics, food preparation areas, and locations in which fire hazards are present.
Sabuga-a explained that it took a year before the city implemented the EO because consultations and meetings were still conducted to answer the debate whether enforcers would also arrest “vapers” or smoking “e-cigarettes.”
"We are still going to meet with the task force and make guidelines to guide our police but certainly this ordinance will be implemented along with our anti-drinking in public ordinance," he said.
The task force is headed by Councilor Ma. Lourdes Gaane, chairperson of the health, sanitation, and health insurance committee.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has earlier urged all local government units (LGUs) to support the nationwide smoking ban by creating their respective Smoke-Free Task Forces.
The DILG said the commitment of local government units is crucial to successfully execute the order as factors like proximity and familiarity with the communities within their jurisdiction is vital in its implementation.