THE Davao City government has collected a total of P8.5 million from fines and penalties for smoking and liquor ban violations in 2020.
In an issued statement, the city government, through the Vices Regulation Unit (VRU), netted the total collection from fines and penalties for violation of the Anti-Smoking Ordinance, Sobriety Ordinance, and Liquor Ban for 2020.
VRU said a large chunk of the collection was from fines for violation of the anti-smoking ordinance which amounted to P6.6 million. The collected amount for the liquor ban violations totaled to P1.8 million, while P49,481.25 was from fines for violating the sobriety ordinance and P25,000 from the certification fee for Designated Smoking Area and Permit to sell.
The collection was lower compared to 2019, which amounted to P8.6 million. The decrease was attributed to the enforcement of the community quarantine due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite the restrictions due to the pandemic, the agency said it continues to strictly implement its mandate.
"Sa karon padayon lang gihapon ang atoang mga enforcer. At least matagam na ang violators kay dako na kaayo ang fine sa violation sa sigarilyo which is P1,000 unya labi na sa establishment na P5,000," VRU said in a statement.
(For now, our enforcers continue to implement the law. At least the violators have learned their lessons because the fines are higher for smoking violation at P1,000, especially for the establishments at P5,000.)
The city said VRU not only apprehends violators of the anti-smoking ordinance but also has medical interventions to help people quit smoking through smoking cessation counseling and Nicotine Replacement Therapy.
"VRU continues to conduct smoking cessation on one-on-one counseling and nicotine replacement therapy for those who want to quit smoking every Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at their office located at Magsaysay Park and through the Davao Chest Center," the city said.
Davao City Covid-19 focal person Dr. Ashley Lopez said in a video presentation that smokers of cigarette, cigar, vape, and other heated tobacco products may be more vulnerable to contracting the coronavirus, as the act of smoking involves contact of fingers to the lips, which increases the possibility of transmission of viruses from hand to mouth.
The city government started imposing higher penalties for violators of the Anti-Smoking Ordinance in 2020.
The ordinance, which was first enacted in 2002, was amended by the 19th City Council in 2019 and was signed by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio in January last year.
Under the amended law, violators of the Anti-Smoking Ordinance will be fined P2,000 for the first offense; P3,000 for the second offense; and P5,000 for the third offense and succeeding offenses.
Before the amendment, violators were fined P1,000 for the first offense and P2,500 for the second offense.
In Section 10 or the No Contest Provision, any person who is apprehended or cited for violating the prohibited acts and does not wish to contest will be allowed to voluntarily pay an administrative penalty of P1,000, which is an increase from the previous fine of P500.
Meanwhile, Ordinance 004-13, the city's liquor ban law, was stretched to 24 hours when the pandemic started in March 2020.
This was repealed for a while on September 21 but was immediately reimposed on November 2 due to the increasing number of cases.
Both the 24-hour liquor ban and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew were extended until March 31, 2021, through Executive Order 05 on Friday, January 29.