CONFUSION MARS ENFORCEMENT

MAYOR Brian Lim says curfew is 8:00 p.m. – 4 :00 a.m. but city ordinance says 9:00 p.m.-4:00 a.m.

This differing time has created confusion among residents in the Dagupan City .

What should be followed? The Sanggunaing Panlungsod says the mayor’s executive order   cannot supersede an ordinance.

Most members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod have noted that some of the executive orders being issued by Mayor Brian Lim during the current pandemic are not synchronized with the ordinances earlier passed by the city’s legislative body.

Councilor and Majority Floor Leader Michael Fernandez cited as a case in point the EO recently issued by the mayor when Dagupan was placed under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) from Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) that reset the curfew hours in the city from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.

Fernandez said the ordinance passed by the SP set the curfew hours from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. and not even an EO of the mayor can supersede an approved ordinance. He said the mayor‘s EO must conform with the laws of the city.

In reaction to SP’s position, lawyer Michael Datario, chief of staff of Mayor Lim also the acting city administrator, said a letter will soon be sent to the SP asking the latter to amend the ordinance’s curfew hours to 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.

He said the former City Administrator Vladimir Mata had written the SP about the proposed change but obviously the letter did not reach the SP.

Even Councilor Luis Samson Jr. expressed puzzlement why the Dagupan  mayor’s EO set a curfew period different from what’s stated in the ordinance passed by the SP.

This same observation was also shared by Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo.

Fernandez also noted that the same EO mandates the wearing of face masks and face shields when entering any of the public markets of the city.

In contrast, the ordinance passed by the city council last year provides that a person must wear both face mask and face shield from the time a person steps out of his house.

At the same time, Fernandez noted that enforcers of the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) have been apprehending violators of the minimum health protocols and issuing Ordinance Violation Receipts (OVRs) simply writing that these persons were apprehended “for violation of the EO”.

The majority leader said lawyer Datario is aware that EOs, unlike ordinances, have no penal provisions, so apprehending POSO officers must state the ordinance violated.

Datario said he will discuss the matter with both POSO Rob Erfe Mejia for the proper orientation of his personnel, and the city prosecutors handling cases against those apprehended for violation of the health  protocols. (Leonardo Micua)

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