Measure requiring hotels, inns to get ID from guests proposed

A draft ordinance is being studied by the Cebu Provincial Board that would require operators  of hotels, resorts and similar establishments to ask  guests for proper identification  before they check in.

PB Member Arleigh Sitoy, the sponsor, said he wanted to put in safeguards  against “so-called hotel crimes” which go unsolved because police investigators can’t trace  the identity of criminal perpetrators.

The ordinance was passed on first reading last Monday and sent to the committee on laws  for review.

The draft ordinance covers hotels, motels, inns, and transient lodging facilities.

If it’s approved, these tourist establishments will be required to keep a register in which clients and guests  write down their names and age.

If they have a companion, their relationship  must be indicated, with a  permanent address, and signature.

No client may refuse to present identification when the establishments ask for one, the ordinance states.

Violators face a fine of  P5,000 at most or imprisonment of  not more than one year, or both.

Sitoy’s proposal followed the arrest in Bogo City of a Canadian retiree who had four underage girls with him in his room earlier this month.

The Canadian is facing a charge of violation of  a special law on child protection and human trafficking.

In a separate resolution, the PB  condemned the parents of the minor age  girls who reportedly “pushed” them to accompany the foreigner.

“The Sangguniang Panlalawigan strongly (condemns) the illegal act of the parents who deliberately place their children in (harm’s) way,” said Sitoy  in his resolution.