LOOK: Commuters, bus conductors still smoke at Ayala bus station

MANILA, Philippines — At the Ayala bus station in Makati City, commuters are swamped not only by thick smoke from vehicles, but also from cigarettes.

Before boarding a bus, especially during rush hours, commuters are forced to inhale smoke from fellow travelers, even though a “no smoking” signage is installed at the station.

It is not just commuters who seem to have made the bus station an official designated smoking area as bus conductors also pull out their cigarettes when they reach Ayala as they traverse the stretch of Edsa.

The bus stop is also situated below the Metro Rail Transit-3 Ayala station, making the terminal almost covered so that smoke cannot easily leave the area.

Two policemen were on duty at the bus station on Wednesday evening, at the time this reporter took photos of smokers at the said station.

For Rachel Anne Liwanag, an accountant at an office in Ayala, smokers at the station add to the hassle of boarding a bus going home.

“Everytime mapapadaan sa one area ng Ayala, mapapa-atras ka talaga kasi nandoon nagkumpulan ‘yung mga nagyoyosi. Pagod ka na pero handa kang makipagsiksikan at makipag-unahan sa bus tapos makaka-amoy ka pa ng nagyoyosi,” she said.

(Everytime you go to that area in Ayala, you will really need to step back because smokers gather there. You are already tired but you are ready to cram inside a bus, and yet you will smell smoke from smokers.)

Non-smoking commuters like Rachel are not supposed to go through such inconveniences, as President Rodrigo Duterte in May 2017 signed Executive Order No. 26, which implements a nationwide smoking ban and provides for the establishment of no smoking areas in public places.

Transportation terminals are among those described as public places in the executive order.

But in Metro Manila alone, police have already apprehended 157,919 violators of the order since June 13 to December 20, 2018, according to data from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

In Makati City, a fine of P1,000 will be imposed on those smoking in public places for the first offense,  P2,000 fine for second offense, and another P3,000 for third offense, Senior Supt. Rogelio Simon, chief of Makati City police, told INQUIRER.net.

He said some commuters at the Ayala bus station do not respect the order on the smoking ban.

“Pasaway ang mga tao doon. May mga vendors doon na kapag lumapit na ‘yung mga pulis doon, tinatago na nila mga paninda,” he said.

(People there are stubborn. Other vendors hide their goods when police officers approach them.)

Simon admitted that the police might not be able to monitor all violators of the executive order given the crowds at the station. He also said the priority of the police deployed at the bus stop is to prevent possible incidents of street crimes, including pickpocketing.

According to Simon, vendors are not allowed at the bus station, but they always come back to sell even as the police try to apprehend them.

“Marami na kaming nahuli doon. Patintero lang mga ginagawa namin (We’ve apprehended a lot of them. It’s like we’re playing patintero),” he said, referring to a traditional Filipino game.

NCRPO chief Director Guillermo Eleazar said he has already directed his subordinates to strictly enforce the smoking ban, especially in the area.

Simon said the Makati City police have also requested larger “no smoking” signs from local authorities to have them installed at the bus station.

In the end, commuters like Rachel hopes the executive order on the nationwide smoking ban will finally have teeth.

She also hopes smokers will only pull out their cigarettes in designated smoking areas to not harm non-smokers like her.

“Sana ‘yung order hindi maging papel. Kaya siya pinirmahan to promote good health and environment,” she said.

(I hope the order will not just remain as a paper. It was signed to promote good health and a clean environment.) /je