The Mandaue City Council is amending the anti-face mask ordinance reducing the fines for violators of City Ordinance No. 14-2017-1215, prohibiting the use of face masks and tinted helmet visors for motorcycle riders.
The council passed on first reading yesterday afternoon the proposed amendments that will reduce to only P500 the fine for first time violators, originally pegged at a fixed rate of P5,000.
Second and third offenders will be fined P1,000 and P1,500 respectively.
The amendatory ordinance also imposes an increment of P500 that will be added to every violation committed in the future together with imprisonment of six months to one year at the discretion of the court.
The proposed amendments will also allow the use of surgical masks to protect motorcycle back riders from smoke and dust inhalation during their travel.
“We know that it was not a perfect piece of legislation, but what is more important is that there are efforts from the Local Government Unit to prevent crimes in the city,” Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna told Cebu Daily News.
The council passed the ordinance on November 14, 2017 and was implemented by the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) starting on March 12, 2018.
However, there were several complaints from motorists which were brought to the attention of Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing, Fortuna, city councilors and traffic enforcers.
Fortuna said motorists complained of the high fines and the implementation of the ordinance even if the back rider is a woman or is sick.
Tricycle drivers also complained about their inclusion in the ordinance.
Review Teams
Fortuna said that Mayor Quisumbing convened his policy team on Monday to discuss these complaints.
On Tuesday, the council also created a Technical Working Group (TWG) composed of Fortuna, Councilors Nilo Seno and Carmelino Del Mar Jr., City Legal Officer Omar Redula and Team head Glen Antigua to do their own review.
Fortuna said that the review done by both groups led to the crafting of draft ordinance No. 32-2018 which seeks to amend certain provisions of C.O. No. 14-2017-1215.
Fortuna said there is no more need to subject the amendatory ordinance to public hearing since they already took into consideration public sentiments on C.O. No. 14-2017-1215 during the crafting of draft ordinance No. 32-2018.
Proposed Amendments
Draft ordinance No. 32-2018 seeks to amend sections 2,3, 4 and 5 of the anti-face mask ordinance.
Section 2 of the draft ordinance defines ski masks locally known as “balaclava” as a “close-fitting garment covering the whole head and neck except parts of the face, typically made of wool.”
Male motorcycle riders are prohibited from wearing ski masks under section 3 of the amendatory ordinance.
“Female drivers and passengers and minor children may wear all types of face mask except balaclava or ski mask,” it reads.
Section 4 imposes fines ranging from P500 to P1,500 for the first three offenses of the amendatory ordinance.
Section 5 authorizes the Philippine National Police (PNP), Team and other deputized enforcers to implement the amendatory ordinance.
Security Measure
Senior Supt. Roberto Alanas, chief of the Mandaue City Police Office, said he does not see anything wrong with amending the anti-face mask ordinance.
“Ang purpose natin dito yong compliance ng mga tao na hindi mag suot nang total face mask for facial identification sa mga pangyayari kagaya ng shooting incident and other crimes,” he said.
Elaine Bathan, the mayor’s chief of staff said that Mayor Quisumbing agreed to amend the anti-face mask ordinance after being told by police officials and the PNP crime laboratory personnel that crime perpetrators can still be identified even if they wear surgical masks.
“We would like to thank the public for their cooperation and patience while we implemented the ordinance. Crime statistics for the last week dipped significantly for Mandaue. However, we recognize that there are legitimate concerns raised (on the ordinance’s implementation) and we feel these amendments will properly strike a balance between public comfort, health and public safety,” she added. /with reports from Correspondent Benjie Talisic