BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod Councilor Archie Baribar yesterday said he will introduce amendments to the Curfew Ordinance of Bacolod City on the request of the business community.
The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the business community have requested for the amendment of the Curfew Ordinance from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., Monday to Sunday, to midnight to 4 in the morning.
Baribar said that during a committee conference yesterday, they came up with a consensus to include in their report a flexible period for the curfew in Bacolod.
If the classification of Bacolod is General Community Quarantine (GCQ), the curfew will start at 10 p.m. up to 4 a.m., if Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) it will be 11 p.m., and if New Normal, it will start at midnight, he said.
“We have to contend that after July 16 Bacolod will have a different status, that is why the amendments will depend on the city’s status as defined by the National Inter-Agency task Force (IATF),” Baribar said.
Despite being still under MGCQ, Baribar said curfew will start at 11 p.m. if they can finish the amendment to the ordinance.
Baribar said they made this proposal so they will not be repeating the process of amending the Curfew Ordinance.
He will submit his committee report for approval of the City Council and by next week they can submit the amended ordinance as an urgent matter and pass it on first, second and third reading, he said.
The committee conference yesterday was attended by representatives from the City Mayor’s Office, City Legal Office, Exit Committee, Land Tax Division, and Permits and Licensing Division.
Baribar said he requested for the number of establishments operating beyond 10 p.m., which are bars and drinking places, because they operate for 12 hours. He wants to know the overall impact of the curfew to them.
Most malls and offices operate for eight hours only while some do not go beyond eight hours due to the availability of transportation and because some of their employees work on rotation, he said.
Transportation is a big problem because they cannot convince the transport group that it is viable for them to operate beyond 8 p.m., Baribar said.
He said that under the Curfew Ordinance he authored, local violators will be meted a fine of P500 and those who live outside of Bacolod will be meted a fine of P1,000.*
