MANILA, Philippines — Smokers, beware. The Muntinlupa City government has created a task force to arrest and fine those caught smoking in public places there beginning this week.

The city information office said public places, including the City Hall, the plaza, roads, churches, and the sunken garden, should be smoke-free from now on.

On Tuesday, Mayor Aldrin San Pedro issued Executive Order 19 giving authority to the smoke-free task force to implement, monitor and enforce Ordinance No. 99-046, which strictly prohibits smoking in public places in the city.

According to the ordinance, violators face a fine of P200 or one to two days of imprisonment for a first offense, P500 or three to five days of imprisonment for a second offense, and P1,000 or seven days of imprisonment for a third offense.

The ordinance, which was approved a decade ago, was apparently ignored in the past years.

“The group will be responsible in apprehending violators and holding educational campaigns against smoking,” San Pedro said in a statement.

He said the creation of the task force was based on the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, or Republic Act 9211, prohibiting smoking in certain public places, whether enclosed or outdoors, such as centers of youth activity, public facilities, and public conveyances, and local government units are directed by law to implement the provisions of the law.

The task group consists of personnel from the local police, the Traffic Management Bureau and Public Order and Safety Office, the public information, the environment department, and the city health office.

San Pedro said second-hand smoke kills and there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.

He cited recent studies that only 100-percent smoke-free public places and workplaces can protect people from exposure to second-hand smoke because ventilation and air filtration systems and designated smoking areas do not protect people from second-hand smoke.