‘Liquor, smoking ban needed to instill discipline’

Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte’s proposals to impose a nationwide liquor ban after 1 a.m., a ban on smoking in public places and a 10 p.m. curfew for minors are need to instill order and discipline at the grassroots level, senator-elect Sherwin Gatchalian said earlier this week.

As a former three-term mayor of Valenzuela City, Gatchalian said Duterte’s plan may sound “too local” but are the building blocks of a peaceful and orderly society.

“Digong is going back to the basics – discipline. His initial pronouncements might sound parochial or too local but they are necessary to install order and discipline at the grassroots level,” he said.

Gatchalian issued the statement after Maria Fe Mendoza, dean of the University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance, observed that Duterte’s proposals are “all local in nature,” adding they show “his being a local manager and micro management, which are way different in the national setting.”

Historian Jose Victor Torres, on the other hand, said such early proposals “are practically laws passed by local government officials... These are not national policy statements.”

Gatchalian emphasized that discipline is necessary for the Philippines’ development, saying “discipline is crucial if the Philippines is to continue its progress. Just look at Singapore. It cannot be where it is now if not for discipline.”