By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Councilor Caesar Distrito, Chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) Committee on Laws, Ordinances, and Good Government, lauded President Rodrigo R. Duterte for issuing an executive order banning smoking throughout public places in the country.
Executive Order No. 26, series of 2017, which prohibits smoking in public and enclosed places, was signed last May 16. It is similar to the strict anti-smoking regulations in effect in Davao City where the Duterte family has held power for two generations.
Under the Presidential directive, all forms of smoking will no longer be allowed in public, except for designated smoking areas.
In comparison, Distrito’s local “Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance” has similar features in which there is a prohibition of smoking in enclosed public areas like malls, restaurants, government offices, working places.
The ordinance also states smoking areas should be designated and no-smoking signs should be displayed in hospitals, clinics, places of worship, schools, parks and playgrounds frequented by minors. Both measures also prohibit selling of cigarettes within a 100-meter radius from a school.
In an email sent by Distrito yesterday afternoon, he said it is good that, finally, the President issued the order that will ban smoking in all public places. The move, he added, will set as the starting point of achieving a smoke-free Philippines.
Earlier, Distrito also authored an ordinance that revised the ordinance regulating the use and sale of electronic cigarettes in the City of Bacolod.
The ordinance will also regulate the use of electronic cigarettes in public places and prohibit its sale to minors.
“I hope the City Health Office, the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office, the City Legal Enforcement Unit, and the Bacolod City Police Office will now implement the ordinance immediately without waiting for the effectivity of the Executive Order,” Distrito added./WDJ