LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Mayor Romeo K. Salda expressed his support to the proposed amendments to the town’s liquor ordinance so that all liquor-related establishments will be mandated to close by 12 midnight.
The local chief executive pointed out that reducing the time for liquor-related establishments to operate in the municipality will also contribute in efforts to lessen the occurrence of liquor-related crimes that affect the town’s overall peace and order situation.
The proposed amendment to the town’s liquor ordinance to reduce the operating time of liquor establishment from 2 am to 12 midnight was also endorsed by the municipal peace and order council and the municipal advisory council to help in enhancing the anti-criminality and peacekeeping efforts of the local police force.
“We find merit to the proposal to reduce the operating time of our liquor establishments so that our law enforcers can concentrate their efforts in intensifying their anti-criminality and peacekeeping efforts so that their time, effort and resources will not be divided between monitoring the compliance of liquor establishments to the prescribed closing time and the implementation of peacekeeping initiatives around the municipality,” Mayor Salda stressed.
Currently, class A liquor establishments are mandated to cease operations by 9 pm, class C liquor stores are obligated to close at 12 midnight while class B establishments serving liquor will close at around 2 am pursuant to the town’s existing liquor ordinance.
Under the proposed amendments, there will only be two classifications of liquor establishments, class B establishments that will close at 9 pm and class A liquor establishments that will be mandated to close at 12 midnight.
Salda disclosed the proposed amendments to the town’s liquor ordinance is now pending deliberations in the municipal council and he remains optimistic the desired changes in the operating time of the liquor establishments will be passed on second and third readings in the next several months so that the revised classification of liquor establishments with their corresponding operating time will be enforced the soonest.
He explained one of the reported common crimes being committed in the municipality are liquor-related incidents thus the need for the local government to initiate the necessary interventions to reduce the commission of liquor-related crimes that affect the town’s overall peace and order situation.
According to him, the proposed reclassification of liquor establishments will be based on the compliance of the establishments to the existing provisions of the liquor ordinance wherein it could result to the downgrading of some of the establishments found grossly violating the rules and regulations governing the operation of liquor stores.
Mayor Salda appealed to owners of liquor establishments to continue adhering to the stringent rules and regulations governing the operation of their establishments because there is a possibility accredited establishments by concerned government agencies could be downgraded for recorded violations of the existing liquor ordinance documented by the local police force and the local government during the conduct of series of inspections on their operations.
By HENT
