THE CITY Vices Regulation Unit (VRU) collected P9,965,900 from the enforcement of the Anti-Smoking Ordinance, Liquor Ban, and Sobriety Ordinance from January to December 2024.
During the iSpeak Media Forum on Thursday, Feb. 20, VRU chief Hernando Las said the citation tickets given to Anti-Smoking ordinance violators topped the collection amounting to P7.5 million.
Las said violators of the ordinance are penalized with P3,000 per citation ticket as mandated by the amended anti-smoking ordinance.
For the total 2,566 operations under the ordinance, 3,463 were apprehended, of which 3,418 complied and paid the ticket while the remaining 225 were filed with charges.
The 225 who could not pay their violation tickets within three working days, and were unpaid for the second or third offense, were filed cases through the City Prosecutor’s Office.
Meanwhile, for the Liquor Ban Ordinance violations, the office collected P1.6 million, which came from 822 operations that apprehended 653 violators.
Of the 653 apprehensions, 473 could comply while the remaining 180 were filed with charges.
From the 822 operations, 220 apprehensions were made, and most violations were made in the serving and selling of liquors beyond the curfew time- 1 am to 8 am.
Las said the Business Bureau shuttered three bars for selling liquor beyond the curfew.
For Sobriety Ordinance violations, VRU collected a total of P739,000, from the citation tickets served to those found buying liquor and drinking in public places beyond the curfew.
The official said they are expecting an increase in collections this year as the amended smoking ordinance mandates the ban of minors to purchase cigarettes and further includes e-cigarettes or vapes which was not covered in the previous rule.
