FINALLY, swimming by the Tondaligan Beach will now be a lot safer.

The city council finally approved an ordinance seeking to make swimming and bathing at the Tondaligan beach safer and prevent more drowning incidents in the area.

Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo, who chairs the committee on tourism in the city council, proposed the ordinance to save lives and to boost the city’s main tourist activity that earns revenues for the city.

In proposing the ordinance, he recalled the demise of Karina Garcia, daughter of the founder editor and publisher of Sunday Punch, who drowned in the area in 1963.

The salient provisions of the new ordinance include prohibition of visitors who are intoxicated to swim; there will no swimming during tropical depressions, and a prohibition of swimming beyond designated safe swimming areas.

According to Tamayo, the city engineering office will place signage in the area to warn the public of the dangers related to swimming and the prohibited acts and penalties thereof.

The ordinance, however, did not include provisions for the hiring of lifeguards.

Tondaligan Administrator Dino Zabala was designated as the chief implementor of the ordinance, responsible for correctly assessing the height of the waves so he can forewarn beachgoers.

Warning will be given to the violators for the first offense. For the second offense, violators will be finedP500 or suffer an imprisonment of not more than 15 days, and for the third offense, a fine of P1, 000 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.

Tamayo said the ordinance will be implemented beginning this summer vacation.–AQL

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