The Vices Regulation Unit (VRU) and the Davao City Police Office apprehended more Anti-Smoking Ordinance violators during the first three months of the year compared to the same period last year.
“The total number of apprehensions for Anti-Smoking Ordinance, from January to March 2023, was 1,630 while the total number for January to March 2024 is 1,772,” VRU Officer-In-Charge Hernando Q. Las said, in an interview with Madayaw Dabaw on Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
Las also said that the City Treasurer’s Office collected Php 1,489,000 from Anti-Smoking citation tickets in the first quarter of the year, lower than last year’s collection of Php 1,575,500.
Las added that cases were also filed against 57 persons who were not able to pay their Anti-Smoking citation tickets within three working days. This is whether it was the first, second, or third offense.
“Dapat sa among kamot kutob lang siya pinakadugay na ang one month, kinahanglan mahatod na sa piskalya (In our office, the unpaid ticket should not stay for more than a month, we need to file the complaint through the City Prosecutor’s Office),” Las said, adding that usually, the cases filed are those for unpaid citation for the second or third offense.
Meanwhile, Las said that 50 enforcers under their office, aided by volunteers, continue their monitoring. The VRU is also being augmented with deputized police officers from the DCPO. The DCPO has also increased its anti-smoking operations from 683 in the first quarter of 2023 to 4,769 this year.
The city’s Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance will turn 22 on May 31, coinciding with the observance of the World No Tobacco Day. CIO
