The Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) recently announced they would follow-up on the request earlier made by Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) director, Police Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, to review City Ordinance No. 331, otherwise known as the city’s curfew ordinance.

City Councilor Caesar Distrito, chairperson of committee on laws and good government, said they will revisit the ordinance in order to determine if it needed to be amended.

Ebreo pointed out most of the violators they were picking up off the streets were repeat offenders. He said a clear penal clause must be implemented as the present ordinance states they cannot penalize the parents of violators and are limited to returning minors to their homes.

The city’s top cop recommended introducing community service or hefty fines on the parents of violators.

Distrito, however, pointed out they would have to take into consideration RA 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which indicates children do not have the right to be subject to “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.”

Based on BCPO records, from January 1 to 31 of this year, they have conducted 192 curfew patrols and rescued 568 minors off the streets./DGB, WDJ