Smoke at your own risk; ban on smoking in public starts Friday

While its environmental enforcers will start apprehending smokers puffing away in public places starting Friday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will also designate smoking areas with makeshift ashtrays on major thoroughfares.

The makeshift ashtrays—55-gallon drums cut in half and filled with sand—will be placed about 10 meters away from loading bays on Edsa.

However, in an earlier interview, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino reminded the public to throw only cigarette butts into the receptacles to avoid starting fires.

The MMDA’s full enforcement of the no-smoking policy is simultaneous with the local government units’ re-enforcement of their antismoking ordinances.

The agency’s environmental enforcers will initially be deployed to certain points on Edsa, including loading and unloading bays, public transport terminals and stations of the Light Rail Transit and Metro Rail Transit.

First-time violators will be issued Environmental Violation Receipts (EVRs), which impose a P500 fine. Those who cannot afford to pay will be required to render eight hours of community service.

Second-time offenders will be fined P1,000 to P5,000 or 16 hours of community service while those caught for the third time will face a fine of P5,000 to P10,000. If they are apprehended inside a public utility vehicle, the vehicle’s franchise will be revoked. Should they be caught inside a business establishment, its business permit will be cancelled.

Violators who fail to settle their EVRs will not be able to apply for or renew their clearance with the National Bureau of Investigation. They may also be charged in court.

Tolentino and the 17 Metro Manila mayors earlier agreed to intensify the authority’s no-smoking drive, extending its scope to cover the entire metropolis. The MMDA no-smoking campaign previously covered only government buildings.