No more freedom of spit in Davao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Thou shalt not spit.

Members of the Sangguniang Panglungsod passed on third and final reading yesterday the Anti-Spitting Ordinance that prohibits and penalizes spitting in public places to minimize incidence of tuberculosis.

Violators will be fined and jailed.

Davao City, under the helm of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, is very strict when it comes to enforcing the city’s laws and ordinances.

Human rights groups and Amnesty International have criticized Duterte for allegedly tolerating killings of alleged criminals, including young offenders, in Davao.

In 2002, Time magazine called him “The Punisher” for his alleged human rights violations in Davao. But Duterte has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killings.

The local ordinance is aimed at lessening TB cases in Davao, according to author and Councilor Samuel Bangoy.

Bangoy, who chairs the city council’s committee on health, pointed out that tuberculosis can be transmitted through spitting.

Tuberculosis, which is contagious and airborne, can cause death.

Mycobacterism tuberculosis, the bacteria which causes TB, is reportedly able to survive in a dried state for weeks, possibly up to eight months.

The ordinance prohibits both careless and intentional spitting “of saliva, phlegm, mucus, or any substances from the mouth in public places such as city streets, alleys, sidewalks, parks, malls, markets, streets, public carriers, public halls and buildings, banks, public squares, terminals, shopping and business centers, schools, churches, hospitals and other similar public places within the city of Davao.”

However, the ordinance would have to be submitted to Mayor Duterte for signature before it can be passed into law.

The ordinance provides that a first-time violator will be fined P100, P200 for the second offense and P300 for the third.

The same ordinance also provides for a penalty of “subsidiary imprisonment not exceeding six months in case of insolvency, or both, such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.”

Aside from the ban on spitting in public, Davao City has also been

known for having pioneered in the strict implementation of a smoking ban in public as well as the ban on the sale and use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic materials.

The ban prohibiting the sale of liquor from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. has also been in effect in Davao City for several years now.

Davao City has been hailed as the most peaceful city in Southeast Asia because of its low crime rate.