Curfew to take effect in Manila

Minors will soon be banned from roaming the streets of Manila.

This developed after the Manila City Council approved on third and final reading yesterday an ordinance that imposes a 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew on individuals 18 years old and below in all six districts of the country’s capital.

Councilors present in yesterday’s session unanimously approved the ordinance authored by 6th District Councilor Julio Logarta Jr., who promised "it would be the best curfew ordinance in the land."

Logarta originally proposed the curfew to be implemented from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., but the City Council decided to shorten the curfew period to six hours to make the measure "more reasonable and implementable."

The ordinance now only needs the signature of Manila Mayor Lito Atienza for it to become a law. The mayor earlier had no objections to a curfew, saying only the ordinance should be studied carefully.

Under the ordinance, curfew hours will be imposed in the city 15 days after its publication in newspapers with national circulation.

Minors who are with their parents or guardians will be exempted from the curfew. Anyone who needs to go out in case of an emergency will have to secure authorization from their parents or certification from the barangay chairman.

Those caught violating the curfew will be reprimanded. Parents of violators will be informed, and would be the ones penalized.

In pushing for the curfew, Logarta took note of reports by the council’s committee on youth and sports development that an ordinance would be of great help in instilling discipline, sense of propriety and moral responsibilities among children.

Aside from giving minors more than adequate sleep and rest needed to enhance their growth, the curfew will also protect minors from lawless elements that lurk during the wee hours.

"A curfew will also prevent minors from engaging in unlawful acts like drinking intoxicating liquor and gambling. The measure will also keep minors away from fraternity and gang wars," Vice Mayor Danilo Lacuna said, in support of the curfew.

For the committee on justice and human rights, the proposal comes at a time "when there is strong public clamor for government to stop drug abuse in society."

"It is a fact that the drug problem has reached dangerous proportions," the committee report read.

In supporting the imposition of a curfew, 4th District Councilor Don Bagatsing cited surveys conducted in 276 cities in the US, where implementation of a curfew was effective in curbing criminality.

Bagatsing said the surveys showed that 93 percent of respondents agreed that the nighttime curfew was useful to law enforcement and 83 percent of residents felt safer with it.