THE 20th Davao City Council has passed various landmark ordinances, which ensured the protection and welfare of the various sectors of society, guidance for disaster protocol, and peace and order, since 2022.
Davao City Vice Mayor J Melchor B. Quitain Jr., in an interview with Madayaw Davao on Wednesday, said that so far, the council has passed many landmark ordinances.
These are the Ordinance Creating the Persons with Disabilities Office (to formulate and implement policies and programs for the promotion of the welfare of the PWDs, as a division at the City Social Welfare and Development Office);
The Ordinance Creating the Davao City Housing Office (to manage housing backlogs);
The Solo Parent Ordinance (provides for additional welfare services, privileges, and benefits for solo parents’ residents of Davao City and establishment of the Solo Parent Division at CSWDO);
Ordinance Establishing Shelter for IP watchers and runners of patients (establishment of space at the Southern Philippines Medical Center for members of the11 tribes as patient watchers);
The Amended CCTV Ordinance (provides minimum specifications required for CCTV cameras, identifies establishments required to put up CCTVs, and defines storage requirements of video footage to ensure the safety of the public);
The Speed Limit Ordinance (provides for speed limit in specific areas of Davao City);
The Paperless Session Ordinance (institutionalizes the use of less paper system in the council);
The Ordinance Institutionalizing the Davao City Earthquake Response Task Force (adopts the general building requirements under Section 104 of the National Building Code, which dictates that buildings and structures must be designed according to their purpose ensuring adequate environmental safeguards and mandates building owners to put earthquake recording instruments in their buildings to monitor earthquakes);
The Pre-emptive Evacuation Ordinance (establishes protocol and alert system information dissemination for evacuation, providing penalties for those who refuse to force evacuate in flooding situations);
The Anti-Spaghetti Wire Ordinance (prohibits the construction of poles that obstruct sidewalks and alleys, prohibits clustered poles in public places including sidewalks, and mandates the removal of unused wire and poles);
Amendment to the Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance (strengthened the previous ordinance protecting vulnerable children from the effects of smoking, prohibits vaping and selling of cigarettes to minors);
Amended Liquor Code of Davao City (repealed the liquor ban and sobriety ordinance and combined them into one ordinance, mandates for the placement of signage in establishments stating the time of the ban, and strengthens prohibition on the sale of liquor to minors);
The Ordinance Implementing the Dabawenyo DCPlinado (a program for young people on discipline and values education applied to all institutional educations in Davao City, covering all levels of basic education and providing modules to be integrated to values education, Araling Panlipunan, Makabayan and Good Manners and Right Conduct Subject of the DepEd Matatag Curriculum);
An Ordinance Creating the Davao City Office for the Culture and the Arts (promotes arts and culture and provides an endowment to support projects and programs of artists); The Ordinance declaring the Mt. Apo Natural Park as Geo Park; and Water-break time Ordinance are also among the landmark ordinances.
Quitain said that each ordinance is a collective effort not just by the legislative arm but also by the resource persons and various stakeholders. An idea for an ordinance emanates from various sources: the private sector, departments of the executive, and some from the councilors through the Executive-Legislative Agenda.
He urged the public to help the 20th council to legislate better and more effective laws for Dabawenyos.
“Ang legislative government is the legislative part of Davao City, and our work involves the creation of ordinances and resolutions. Rest assured that your city council is working: It is a working city council; if you look at the output, we have passed many ordinances already, but of course, we also need reactions and inputs from the public. If you feel nga naay something nga na miss namo (If you feel that we have missed something) that needs to be addressed with an ordinance or legislation, our course at my office is very open, if you cannot go personally, we have a Facebook page, we have an email or you can set an appointment then we will entertain you,” Quitain said, adding that unless the public will tell them they might not know anything about a concern or matter.
Currently, Quitain said that among the ordinances being studied at the council are e-bikes. Looking forward to the future it is also their priority to review past and outdated ordinances in the city to adapt to the situations and scenarios of the current time. CIO
Editor’s Note: This article has been sourced from the City Government of Davao Facebook Page.
