The Dumaguete City government is bent on strictly implementing the provisions of the No-Smoking ordinance in September this year with more emphasis in school campuses around the City.
Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria said the ordinance will be strictly enforced in all public elementary and secondary schools of the city division, as well as in the perimeters of educational institutions.
According to the Mayor, smoke-free enforcers will be deployed in the said areas and inside the city hall for the strict implementation of the law.
Sagarbarria also pointed out that there is no designated smoking area in the city hall and anyone who violates the ordinance will be penalized.
In his anti-smoking advocacy, the mayor cited the gains of the campaign in Thailand where the number of smokers has drastically gone down despite the increase in population for the last 10 years.
Sagarbarria said the no-smoking campaign will be incorporated with healthy lifestyle programs of the city, such as the ongoing regular and daily exercise at the Quezon Park.
Department of Education city division superintendent Dr. Ramir Uytico said the city’s smoke-free ordinance reinforces the division’s policy of smoke-free campuses.
Uytico has scheduled a meeting with the federation of parent teachers associations to seek the help of parents in realizing the vision of a smoke-free City. (PNA/FFC/JFP/JG)
