Penalty for Cebu City quarantine violators increased

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Council has amended for the second time the ordinance that details the penalties and charges against quarantine violators in the city.

For this most recent amendment authored by Councilor Raymond Garcia, the fee has been increased to P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for the third offense and beyond.

This penalty is a compromise fee for not being charged in court. Violators who cannot afford the compromise fee may render corresponding hours of community service from 4 hours to 12 hours.

Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who amended the ordinance for the second time, said that there was a necessity to do so because the first amendment of P500 for first time offenders did little to discourage violators.

“Daghan gihapon kaayo. Dili gyod matagam sa P500 lang. Maayo ni kay dako-dako na, mohesitate gyod na sila. (There are still a lot of violators. They are not afraid to pay the P500. This way the penalty is higher and the public will hesitate),” said Garcia.

If the violator will not pay the compromise fee and will not undergo the voluntary community service, charges will be filed against him/her for violating the law.

The City Council found the necessity to increase the penalty to discourage people to violate the health protocols, especially during the Christmas season when more people are expected to go out.

The city government especially the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is already concerned about the upcoming season, as they see a rising trend of people gathering and contracting the virus.

The increasing number of new cases on October 2020 continuing to November 2020, has been alarming for the EOC, which is now formulating suggestions for the mayor to review on how activities should be done during the Christmas season.

Mayor Edgardo Labella already said that he discourages Christmas parties to avoid the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). /rcg