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[av_heading heading=’Bacolod councilors seek vandals’ arrest ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – “With all the powers expressly granted by law,” the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) and the Office of the City Mayor must crack down on those defacing walls, bridges and traffic signage, among others.
According to the Sangguniang Panlungsod, City Ordinance (CO) No. 534 penalizes vandalism and mandates the creation of a task force that will arrest the culprits, “mostly teenaged gangs and unlawful individuals.”
In a resolution authored by Caesar Distrito, the city council reminded the executive department it has the duty to “apprehend [those] behind this disturbing criminal act” using “all the powers expressly granted by law.”
CO No. 534, or the Anti-Vandalism Ordinance of 2011, defines vandalism as “the willful acts that damage or deface the property belonging to another person or the public.”
These include “writing, drawing, painting, marking, or inscribing on any public or private property without the owner’s consent.”
Those found violating the local law shall be fined P1,000, P2,000 and P3,000 on first, second and third offenses, respectively.
“The Office of the City Mayor, in coordination with the BCPO, should form a Task Force that will ensure its strict implementation,” read part of the resolution.
In addition, the BCPO must submit to the city council a “monthly accomplishment report” on its anti-vandalism operations.
Vandalism “seriously affects the condition of private- and public-owned structures,” and its proliferation has become “very alarming,” Distrito noted.
Bridges, sidewalks, public and private walls, traffic signage, statues, waiting sheds, and welcome arcs are filled with graffiti and other vandals, he said.
“As the law provides, the State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights, and [promotes] a just and dynamic social order,” the city council resolution stated.
Distrito reminded the city government that the Local Government Code of 1991 mandates local government units “to ensure the health and safety of its citizens, and likewise maintain peace and order.”
The councilor, chairman of the committee on laws, ordinances and good government, already dared the BCPO to catch CO No. 534 violators.
“I challenge Senior Superintendent Jack Wanky, acting director of the BCPO, to apprehend the vandals,” Distrito said.
The Anti-Vandalism Ordinance of 2011 is not the only law of its kind in Bacolod.
The Memorial Protection Ordinance, approved on Dec. 14, 2016, “[prohibits] any person from performing any act of covering, damaging and defacing any memorial with historical or cultural significance.”
“Memorials” refer to “anything officially placed or displayed in public or government buildings, edifices, structures, or plazas to help people remember some person or event of historical or cultural significance.”
Anyone violating it will face a criminal charge — and an administrative one, too, if they are a government official or employee.
A fine of P5,000 or a one-year imprisonment will be imposed on first offense, and both the fine and the jail term on second and succeeding offenses./PN
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