ÇOTABATO CITY – One hundred twenty-nine individuals here were arrested and fined the past three weeks for violation of City Ordinance 3866 or the Tobacco Regulation Ordinance of Cotabato City.
The operation, conducted by the City Public Safety Office (CPSO), in cooperation with the local police force and traffic management group, was carried out in various public places in the city.
Rolen Balquin, CPSO chief, said, most of those caught were smoking in the vicinity of the city public market situated on Don Rufinio Alonzo Extension and the old city public market site on Bonifacio St..
“Those caught were either required to pay PHP500 or render a day-long community service for their offense,” Balquin said on Wednesday.
The CPSO anti-smoking ban street operation started March 26 and conducted daily thereafter across the city.
Balquin said establishments are not exempted from sanctions, citing those that fail to comply with the requirements of the ordinance would also be penalized accordingly.
City Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, for her part, has urged Cotabateños to cooperate in achieving the goal of a smoke-free city. (PNA)
