The eMagazine of Philippine Information Agency 10 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2016
SP passes “Bote-Bote” ordinance
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The campaign against the illegal sale of petroleum products in Cagayan de Oro city gets a boost.
The 18th City Council during its regular session Monday presided over by City Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin V. Uy unanimously approved Ordinance No.13121-2016, prohibiting the selling and retailing of unsafe and substandard liquid petroleum products using soda or plastic bottle, jugs and other similar containers in the city and imposing penalties for any violation. The Illegal “Bote-Bote” Retailing of Liquid Petroleum Products Ordinance of 2016, was authored by Councilor Teodulfo Lao, chair of the committee on energy. It may be recalled that the committee held a series of meetings with concerned agencies and parties regarding the proliferation and rampant selling of retailed-liquid petroleum products in the city. According to councilor Lao, these are highly-combustible and flammable products that can cause fire and pose health risks to the public. The illegally-sold products may be sourced from illegal activities, which deprive the city government of revenues, he cited, among others. MINIMUM STANDARDS Section 3 of the ordinance requires person engaged or intending to engage in the retailing of liquid petroleum products to comply with minimum standards. It provides that the retailing of liquid petroleum products shall be conducted in duly approved premises with an initial minimum lot area of 100 square meters and where vehicles
being serviced shall at all times be inside the duly approved business premises and shall only be carried out through fixed and permanent dispensing pumps duly approved by the city government and Department of Energy (DOE). The owner and/or operator of the retail outlet must possess valid permits, licenses and certification for the retailing, storage, handling, transfer and/or dispensing of liquid petroleum products from the City Mayor’s Office. The construction and operation of the retail outlet must also comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations and city ordinances or face penalties. TASK FORCE The ordinance also creates Task Force Bote-Bote, composed of the city treasurer as the head, city police director as the vice head, city fire marshal, Association of Barangay Council president or representative, Roads and Traffic Administration head, City Equipment Depot manager, city legal officer, five personnel from the City Treasurer’s Office duly designated by the city treasurer, three police officers duly designated by the city police director, five RTA personnel, three Equipment Depot personnel and punong barangay of barangays where there are bote-bote operators as exofficio members. The duties of the task force is to recommend the issuance of executive order to the city mayor, if necessary, to intensify and strengthen the
implementation of the ordinance or other related laws and may propose any amendments and inspect, plan and monitor the entire area of the city to determine that no illegal retailing of petroleum products is existing. The task force shall confiscate all stocks of liquid petroleum products found in the vicinity, which are subject of illegal retailing and vending. PENALTY Section 7 of the Bote-Bote ordinance provides that persons that peddle, vend, retail and sell in violation and those who do not comply with provisions, in addition to the
confiscation of the liquid petroleum products, shall be penalized by a fine of P3,000 for the first offense, P4,000 for second and third offense, and P5,000 or imprisonment of one year or both penalty and imprisonment upon the discretion of the proper court. As reviewed by the City Legal Office, the provisions contained in the ordinance are similar or conforms to the rules and regulations issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) governing the business of retailing liquid petroleum products (DOE Department Circular No. DC 200311-010).(SP)
Police reminds public to be safety conscious MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur – Piagapo Municipal Police Station is reminding the public to be cautious against the dangers of crimes. Police Inspector Mohammad Ridhwan Ombawa, chief-of-police of Piagapo MPS, said we must be aware of our safety by taking precautionary measures. Ombawa shared, during the Ozor ka, Ranao! radio program of the Philippine Information Agency and Radyo ng Bayan in the province of Lanao del Sur, some advice on how to stay safe. Be safety and security conscious by being aware of your surroundings. Be updated about the current crime
trends in your area such as where do crimes usually occur and who are the usual perpetrators, said Ombawa. Get to know the police officers assigned in your area and make it a habit to visit the nearest police station once in a while. Know the station’s emergency hotline and the officers’ official number. According to Ombawa, the Philippine National Police has also launched a mobile app that has directory of all police stations nationwide.
Always inform your families of your whereabouts so that they can easily locate you in case of emergency. Avoid being out alone in the dark. Walk in well-lighted and well-travelled walkways. Conceal your valuables when travelling. Never flaunt your jewelries, wallets and mobile phones especially when you are in public places such as markets, bus stations, and the like.
Be vigilant and responsible. Contact the police when you see suspicious activities in your community. The police chief also reiterated safety is not the sole responsibility of the police; and that crime prevention is a shared responsibility between the law enforcers and the members of the community. (APB/PIA-10)
Increase monthly savings, win P1M, says Pag-IBIG Fund CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Pag-IBIG Fund is pleased to inform its qualified members both local and overseas Filipinos that they still have a chance to win up to P1M until March 31, 2017 with the Pag-IBIG Fund Expanded Raffle Promo. To join the raffle promo, members should remit the required monthly membership savings of at least P600. They would also need to go to the PagIBIG website at www.pagibigfund.gov.ph and click the “Pag-IBIG Expanded Raffle Promo” icon. For every P600 membership savings remitted per month, one electronic raffle number will be issued by the Pag-IBIG Fund to the qualified member through email. The qualified members can also
obtain one bonus electronic raffle number once they join the raffle promo through the Pag-IBIG website. Lucky winners may bag Samsung S-7 Edge and MacBook Pro Retina in the monthly, preliminary and grand draw. Pag-IBIG Fund will also give away P250,000 and P500,000 in the preliminary and grand draw aside from the P1M grand prize.(RTP/PIA10)