Davao smoking ban won’t spare Duterte backer

DAVAO CITY—One of the biggest supporters of a bid to push Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to run for President next year got a taste of what a Duterte administration would be like on a larger scale after he was apprehended for smoking and made to pay a fine.

Jimmy Cabrera, of Grand Regal Hotel, was apprehended for smoking on a vacant lot near the Reggae Grill of the Pryce Plaza in the city on Saturday, according to Leo Villareal, head of the city government’s information office.

Villareal said Cabrera was at a concert organized by Musicians and Artists for Duterte at the Reggae Grill, a fundraising event for Duterte, and mistook the vacant lot near the venue as a smoking area.

Cabrera was accosted by policemen and did not protest when told he violated the city’s smoking ban. Cabrera, Villareal added, admitted his mistake. He was made to pay P500 in fine as a first time violator and required to attend smoking cessation counseling sessions. Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao