EDITORIAL - Authorities must lead the battle

It has been almost two weeks since the annual Fiesta Señor in Cebu City and it’s not yet known how many violations of the liquor ban during the celebrations were recorded by the authorities.

This developed as Cebu City Councilor David Tumulak urged the public, especially those establishments, to report to the city government those who violated the ban on liquor during the celebrations.

“We are calling on the public to help us pin down the establishments that violated the city’s policy during Sinulog,” Tumulak said. “The violators will be dealt accordingly by the mayor and the City Legal Office.”

The councilor said there is a need for photos, videos and other evidence for them to launch an investigation to penalize the violators, including those erring business establishments. Proofs of the violation can be sent to the city government’s official website.

At first glance, this move of the city is good since it is a way of solidly enforcing the liquor ban. Besides, it also encourages public awareness and participation in the effort to go after the violators.

But it remains to be seen whether the public, especially those establishments, will aggressively respond to the call of the city. Since the fiesta, we have yet to hear the authorities announcing any arrest of any liquor ban violator.

Of course we cannot deny the fact that there are witnesses who would rather opt to remain silent than leaping into the danger of squealing to authorities the identities of those violators.

To effectively enforce the ban, authorities should not wait for any public information for them to act. If they want to really to go after those violators, they themselves need to thoroughly monitor establishments holding parties during fiesta celebrations.

Authorities cannot expect an eager public participation unless they themselves will go out and lead the battle.