BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance requiring all business establishments serving liquor within the city to designate a personnel to serve as barker for their drunk customers and providing penalties for violations thereof.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Joel Alangsab stated it shall be the duty of all establishments serving liquor within the city such as, but not limited to bars, night clubs, discos, beer gardens, karaoke or videoke bars, billiards and darts centers to designate a personnel to serve as barker for their drunk customers who wish to ride on a taxi going home.
The ordinance added that the designated barker shall record the name of the drunk customers, the registered license plate number of the taxi and its trade or business name and said records will be kept by the establishment to be utilized by the proper authorities for their anti-criminality campaign.
Under the proposed ordinance, owners and proprietors of establishments who refuse to implement the provisions of the measure shall be fined P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 plus suspension of business permit for a period of 7 days for the second offense and P3,000 and revocation of business permit for the third offense.
The ordinance stipulated that by keeping records of taxis ferrying drunk customers to their homes, incidents of theft could be avoided as the victims could use the records of the establishments to trace the identity of the driver who brought them home and who might have committed the prohibited act for the filing of the appropriate charges against the erring drivers or their cohorts.
Aside from the official records being kept by the establishment, the recordings made by their closed circuit television cameras could also be used by the drunk customers to trace what happened to them or their personal belongings while they were inside or outside the establishments.
For the period of January to August last year, the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) recorded a total of 1,1021 traffic accidents, wherein 837 resulted to damage to property, 158 physical injuries and/ 5 to homicide.
Further, there were 21 incidents considered to be self-inflicted or those vehicular traffic accidents with no other involved vehicles.
BCPO records also showed that of the 1,021 vehicular traffic incidents recorded in the police blotters, only 5 incidents involved alleged drunk drivers where properties were taken considering that the personnel of the BCPO are not yet properly equipped with gadgets that can determine drunkenness of the apprehended individuals involved in traffic accidents.
Of the 1,4212 recorded crime incidents in the city from January to August 2017, there were 79 victims who were allegedly intoxicated with alcohol and there were 4 allegedly under the influence of liquor.
The proposed ordinance was referred to the concerned committee for the conduct of the necessary study and recommendation whether or not the measure will be approved on second and third readings.
By Dexter A. See
