The local government of Zamboanguita in Negros Oriental marked the full-blown enforcement of its Smoke-Free Ordinance by implementing Operation Tangtang in its coastal villages.
Together with a task force of enforcers, Zamboanguita Mayor Kit Marc Adanza on March 24 took down smoking signages in public buildings within the town’s coastal villages. “We either removed the signages ourselves or asked the establishments to remove them as part of the enforcement of the ordinance,” said Adanza.
Zamboanguita’s one-year old Ordinance No. 15, which is a slightly modified version of Amlan’s pioneering smoke-free ordinance, was created in 2009 and marked its first year anniversary on Dec. 11, 2010.
“After a year of focusing on raising awareness on the ordinance, series of information drives and advocacy campaigns, we are now fully enforcing the law in Zamboanguita,” the Mayor said.
Penalties for violating the ordinance are reprimand for first offense, P500 for second offense and P1,500 for third offense.
Despite the strict enforcement of the ordinance, Adanza stressed that the local government considers smokers not as violators but victims of the vice.
“We are not prohibiting the act of smoking, only smoking within public places and most importantly, second-hand smoking,” said Adanza.
In April this year, the LGU will start accepting enrollees to its Cessation Clinic for locals who wish to quit the habit.
The Zamboanguita Mayor said no one has been penalized yet for violating the said ordinance. (Rachelle Nessia/PIA)