THE VICES Regulation Unit (VRU) is eyeing to shift from mere fines to stricter legal actions, including the filing of court cases and the revocation of business permits, especially for bars that repeatedly violate the city’s Liquor Code.
VRU Head Jacy Jay Francia told reporters before Monday’s flag ceremony that the unit has intensified its monitoring, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.
During a recent operation, authorities apprehended 67 individuals at a bar on Mapa Street for drinking past the curfew hours.
Francia emphasized that establishments will no longer be allowed to simply pay penalties for repeated offenses, as under proposed amendments, the city will proceed directly to filing court charges against non-compliance.
“I would like to remind bar owners that in our proposed amendments to our ordinance, we are proposing that establishments can no longer just pay the penalty. We will proceed with the filing of a case in the court,” Francia said.
“Kasi paulit-ulit lang, kaya nilang magbayad ng penalty tapos ulit na naman,” he stressed, noting the repetitive acts of some of the establishments.
For individual violators caught drinking beyond allowable hours, they can only pay the penalty once, and after that, they can’t avail themselves of that anymore.
“We proposed a ‘no contest’ provision. In the no-contest provision, you pay a lower amount, but this can only be availed once,” he said.
Francia clarified that the bars are being sanctioned, with some even having penalties that are high and cumulative.
He noted that at least eight businesses were suspended for 15 to 30 days and blocked during renewal.
“We’ve even issued tickets to bars that are suspended for 10 days; that’s a big loss for them,” he said.
At present, Francia said the office had already gone around and given final warnings to some, and if found to be caught violating again, he will recommend to the Business Bureau for revocation.
“So far, I have issued one final warning, but I am still checking our system for others with multiple violations to see if they’ve reached three. Because they just pay,” he said.
With the existing ordinance, for establishments caught first-time, the fine is ₱3,000, and ₱ 5,000 for second offense and succeeding ones. The fine for individuals is P3,000.
Francia added that part of their proposed amendments under the Sobriety Ordinance, fines for individuals caught drinking in the alleyways and the streets will be raised to P3,000 from the current P1,000.
As of the first quarter of this year, there were 2,008 violators of the Anti-Smoking Ordinance and 729 violators of the Liquor Ban, where 167 were caught drinking on the streets.
Francia lauded the proposal of the Committee on Trade and Commerce to have an ordinance to go after the sale of illicit cigarettes, as it lures the children because these products are cheap.
The official said the proposal has undergone three committee hearings with the committee on peace and public safety of the 21st city council.
