Dad bans sleeping in public
IN A bid to support the call to rid the streets of useless loitering, the Baguio City Council is also moving to ban sleeping in public places.
Councilor Joel Alangsab said sleeping in public areas will now have penalties after a proposed law was passed on its first reading dubbed “antislumbering in Baguio City prohibits street children, vagrants and the drunk to sleep at sidewalks, overpasses and parks.
“There were unsanitary human excrements or urines seen in the sidewalks, overpasses and parks especially during the morning, they are used not only as sleeping quarters but also as comfort rooms at night,” Alangsab said.
Alangsab added it will be good for the city to discourage and eliminate people to stop from using the sidewalks, overpasses and parks as their sleeping quarters.
“This practice is not only an eyesore but is also unsanitary as human excrement and urine is seen on sidewalks, overpasses and parks, especially during the mornings because they are used not only as a sleeping quarter but also as a comfort room at night,” added Alangsab.
To help implement the new law, the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) as well as barangay officials and park security officers will be given the authority to enforce the law and keep the streets rid violators.
If the new law is passed, violators will be fined P500 for the first offense, P1,000 for the second offense and P 3,0000 for the third offense.
In a related move, Mayor Mauricio Domogan is backing orders from President Rodrigo Duterte for police to arrest bystanders to help improve the overall peace and order situation in the country calling on law enforcers to implement the arrests.
The city is strictly implementing a 9pm curfew daily.