The ordinance, approved by Tagaytay’s City Council, did not get the nod of the Cavite Provincial Board, which says that the local decree cannot be implemented because it went beyond what is prescribed by Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.
“We cannot rule out the tobacco industry’s role in any watered-down smoke-free ordinance including its crafting, passage, implementation, and enforcement. There is big business to protect in every smoke-free ordinance that goes out there,” said the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) in a statement.
The Tagaytay ordinance, unanimously approved by its City Council in June 2012 while Congress was in the heat of the sin tax debate, was junked by the Cavite Provincial Board alleging that it was an “invalid local legislation” because it purportedly went beyond the provisions of RA 9211 in terms of how the national law defines “public places.”
Tagaytay is a recipient of the Presidential Health Care Award and is known as a child- and health-friendly city having been awarded as the most health conscious LGU in the country in 2008 and in 2010. In approving the local decree, its policy-making board recognized that there exists an “irreconcilable conflict” between tobacco firms’ interest and public health.
The ordinance bans smoking in all public places within the city and prohibits the sale, distribution, and advertisement of tobacco products including e-cigarettes, which is getting popular among smokers.
FCAP is questioning why Tagaytay’s ordinance was rejected by Cavite ’s Sangguninang Panlalawigan when it approved a similar local decree by the municipality of Carmona in December 2011.
“Oddly enough, the Carmona Municipal Ordinance which bore definitions lifted from the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in reference to fully and partially enclosed areas and public places, was passed unopposed and escaped the scrutiny of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,” said FCAP.
The group encouraged local governments to adhere to the FCTC, which was ratified by the Philippines in 2005 and should have been fully implemented by 2010. It also reminded LGU officials to observe a Civil Service Commission circular prohibiting tobacco industry interference in government offices.
“If we are going to believe Cavite ’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan that Tagaytay’s ordinance went beyond RA 9211, then how come we have other LGUs like Albay that approved a smoke-free ordinance which was clearly broader than the national law? The fact remains that the Philippines was a signatory to the FCTC and it is obligated to adhere in good faith to the treaty’s provisions,” said FCAP.
The FCAP added that under the FCTC, an LGU may enact an ordinance that has greater restrictions than RA 9211 if such legislation is deemed responsive to the needs of the local government and its constituents. One sample of this is the ban on e-cigarettes that Tagaytay City wishes to implement.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), e-cigarettes contain harmful chemicals such as acetic acid, acetone, isoprene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde that are dangerous for non-smokers when inhaled. While not as polluting as a conventional tobacco product, e-cigarettes produce certain levels of cancer-causing substances in the air that non-smokers breathe, said the WHO.
No comments:
Post a Comment