DAVAO CITY: The city government has collected some PHP1.4 million of fines from anti-smoking ordinance violators during the first quarter of the year, the Vices Regulation Unit (VRU) and the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) reported Thursday.

In an interview, VRU officer-in-charge Hernando Las said they apprehended at least 1,772 violators in the first quarter of the year, higher compared to the 1,630 apprehensions in the same period last year.

Cases were also filed against 57 persons who were not able to pay their violation tickets within three working days, he said.

“The unpaid ticket should not stay for more than a month or else, we need to file the complaint through the City Prosecutor’s Office,” he said, adding that usually, the cases filed are those for unpaid citation for the second or third offense.

Meanwhile, DCPO reiterated its call for business establishments to abide by the amended closed circuit television (CCTV) ordinance, which took effect February this year.

The advisory was issued after a
condominium in downtown Davao, which became the scene of a double murder case last month, was found to be in violation of the policy.

Capt. Hazel Tuazon, DCPO spokesperson, said the local police and the local government are mulling charges against the establishment owners.

Although the condominium did have CCTV cameras in place, Tuazon said these were non-functional.

The incident, she said, should serve as a painful reminder to the business sector not to take any expediency with regard to security policies and regulations mandated by law.

Source: Philippines News Agency