LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Philippines—Saying the freedom to spit is not absolute, the provincial board on Tuesday approved a Tublay town ordinance that banned and penalized the wanton spitting of betel nut juice or "moma."

Those caught spitting moma anywhere would be fined P2,500 or imprisoned for not more than six months.

Earlier, some officials expressed doubt on the legality of the measure whose enactment raised some eyebrows from Tublay's communities dominated by the Ibaloi, one of four major tribes in Benguet.

Members of the provincial board debated on whether the ordinance was discriminatory or whether it violated the constitutional prohibition against class legislation since the ordinance only sought to punish those who spit moma.

Tublay's town council approved the ordinance on June 6 after noticing that the town's sidewalks and other public areas had become unsanitary because of the spewing of moma.

Moma is an amalgam of betel nut, gawed (a local nut), lime, tobacco and other ingredients which, when chewed, blended well and produce red spittle.

Under the ordinance, residents are required to properly dispose of their moma by asking them to carry a spittoon or a receptacle or container where they could spit.

Board Member Johnny Uy, the board's agriculture committee chair, said the ordinance appeared biased since it only penalized betel nut chewers and not people who spit practically anywhere.

"How about those who spit indiscriminately without necessarily chewing betel nut?" he asked.

But Board Member Juan Nazarro Jr. said the measure prohibited moma because when it is spit out, its reddish color makes the sidewalks look dirty and unsanitary.

"The ordinance is a lawful exercise of Tublay's power to promote the community's general welfare as defined under the Local Government Code," Nazarro, a lawyer, said.

Tublay Councilor Ericson Felipe, one of the ordinance's co-authors, said the ordinance was approved after residents complained that many town residents learned to chew betel nut.

He said the habit was developed among those who had worked as small-scale miners in Itogon town.

The capital town of Lagawe in Ifugao also passed an anti-moma spitting ordinance in October 2007. The measure required residents to spit into blue painted drums placed around the public market.