BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance prohibiting drunk passengers to board any public utility vehicles (PUV) operating within the city.
The ordinance authored by Councilors Joel Alangsab and Benny Bomogao stated the proposed measure shall apply to all PUVs operating in the different parts of the city to guarantee the safety of the general public.
The ordinance defined a drunk person as someone whose physical and mental faculties are impaired by an excess of alcoholic drink and it may be characterized by acting unruly, rowdy, disorderly, loudly, widely, irrationally and violently, due to lack or diminution of self-control.
The proponents explained the ordinance provides and promotes safety or protection of passengers against unscrupulous, undisciplined, bully or drunk passengers who are unruly when aboard PUVs.
The ordinance stipulated all operators, drivers, and operators and drivers associations, bus companies, barkers and conductors of PUVs operating in the city or maintaining, staging, loading or terminals shall not allow any person who is drunk to board said PUVs.
Any jeepney driver, jeepney association, bus company, barker, or conductor who wilfully violates the pertinent provisions of the measure shall be penalized by a fine of P500 for the first offense, a fine of P1,000 for the second offense, a fine of P3,000 for the third offense and a fine of P5,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 6 months or both at the discretion of the court for the succeeding offenses.
For drunk passengers barred but still insist on boarding PUVs, they shall be reported immediately to any police officer or deputized agents; in case the boarding was done without the fault of the driver, barker or conductor, the driver has the duty to drop the drunk passenger at the nearest police station.
The drunk passengers brought to the police station shall be penalized with a fine of P500 for the first offense, a fine of P1,000 for the second offense, a fine of P3,000 for the third offense and a fine of P5,000 or imprisonment of not more than 6 months or both at the discretion of the court for the succeeding offenses.
Upon the effectivity of the ordinance, all PUVs shall prominently post and display in their vehicles the warning “Drunk Passengers are not allowed to board” signage visible to the riding public with a size at least 8 inches by 11 inches.
Further, the ordinance stipulated the signage shall show the needed information such as the fines to be imposed on violators and the hotline to be called in cases that there will be drunk passengers boarding their vehicles.
Further, bus, jeepney and UV express terminals shall likewise display the same signage with the dimensions of 18 inches by 32 inches as minimum size to be painted or displayed and visible to the public.
By Dexter A. See
