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Benguet capital town orders liquor ban, suspends number coding

By Liza Agoot

April 17, 2019, 5:37 pm

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Benguet’s capital town has ordered all bars and establishments to stop offering liquor for a solemn observance of Lent and at the same time lifted the number coding for more mobility.

Mayor Romeo Salda issued the administrative order on April 15 imposing a municipal-wide ban on the serving of liquor and alcoholic beverages from midnight of April 17 to noon of April 20.

The order said the three-day liquor ban aims to prevent loss of lives and injuries caused by drunkenness.

"This order was imposed to secure the people and for safety in the municipality," said George Babsa-ay, information officer of La Trinidad town.

He also said the operation of establishments serving liquor during the holidays adds strain on the resources of the municipal police force.

"The mayor and the local government units don't want any harm in the observance of Lent and we want to observe Lent with appropriate solemnity," he said.

With hundreds and even thousands of tourists expected to visit the strawberry farms and the vegetable trading post in La Trinidad during the Holy Week, the local government also ordered the number coding scheme lifted during the observance of the Lenten season.

“The municipality anticipates the influx of visitors and tourist to the highlands to view the municipality's scenic spots and to buy products," Babsa-ay said.

“Tourist cannot enter La Trinidad if there is a coding so we saw the need to suspend the number coding scheme in the entire municipality to allow them come freely,” Babsa-ay said.

He said they suspended the number coding in order to accommodate and give better mobility to the tourists and community members alike.

"This will allow the members of the community to move freely and for them to have a convenient trip going home to their provinces," he said. (Janice Dio-as, OJT/PNA)

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