Strict implementation of three ordinances ordered
Iloilo City -- Mayor Jerry P. Treņas ordered concerned city government offices to step up the campaign against jaywalking, smoking, and littering as the Dinagyang Festival draws near.
Treņas said the campaign is in support of the Dinagyang-related project of the city government dubbed "Iloilo Squeaks for Dinagyang" which aims to prepare the metropolis in welcoming visitors to the world-renowned religious and cultural festivity.
Dinagyang executive committee chair Ben Jimena said in an earlier interview that the project's objectives are to effect a makeover of the city's physical state especially its main thoroughfares for the 2006 Dinagyang Festival, instill discipline among pedestrians and motorists in order to improve the traffic situation, and to involve various agencies or groups in the clean-up drive.
Treņas said Ordinance 309, the city's anti-jaywalking fiat, penalizes jaywalkers who cross from one sidewalk to another along the streets of Iloilo City without using pedestrian lanes with a fine of P50.00 and/or imprisonment of not more than one day.
On the other hand, he pointed out that Ordinance 2002-225 prohibits smoking in all establishments, such as malls, restaurants, movie houses, disco houses, hospitals, hotel lobbies including restrooms and lavatories, school rooms and buildings, gasoline stations, all government offices or buildings and private offices offering services to the general public.
Smoking is likewise banned in all public conveyances or means of transportation, such as buses, passenger jeepneys, taxicabs, tricycles and trisikads operating within the jurisdiction of the City of Iloilo. Violations are punishable by a fine of P300.00 or imprisonment of not more than 5 days or both fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court. Establishments where the violations occurred are likewise liable for hefty penalties.
The anti-littering ordinance (Ordinance 26 of 1963), Treņas added, penalizes persons caught littering in streets, throwing trash in any waterway, spitting in the floors of places for public assembly, or urinating in public with a fine of P200.00.
Task forces have already been directed to monitor violations and to implement the ordinances, he stressed.
The mayor said the agencies that will implement the Iloilo Squeaks for Dinagyang are Task Force Clean and Green, Solid Waste Management Board, Iloilo Business Club, Iloilo City Public and Private Schools, Sangguniang Kabataan, Association of Barangay Captains, City Beautification Drive, and other city departments.
Treņas, who presided over the launching of "Iloilo Squeaks for Dinagyang", also called on all Ilonggos to cooperate with those implementing the project, saying that a clean city is not just the pride of city government officials but also of all residents. (Adora B. Bandorio/PIO)