Ban on ‘short shorts’ irks netizens

An over 11-year-old ban on “short-shorts” in Caloocan City has enraged netizens, prompting the police to issue a clarification.

City Ordinance No. 0439 or the Caloocan City Dress Code in Public Places was enacted on Nov. 6, 2007 to give residents guidelines on “appropriate and acceptable” clothing.

“Persons must be properly and decently attired while moving about in public places within the city,” section 2 said.

The objectionable provision, however, prohibits vendors from being half naked, wearing slippers and short shorts or “trousers covering less than one-fourth of the lower torso and legs.”

Netizens promptly criticized the ordinance, saying it promoted victim-blaming while enforcing the myth that skimpy clothing could lead to women being abused.

Sought for a reaction, Senior Supt. Restituto Arcangel, Caloocan police chief, said that the ban applied only to market vendors.

The pertinent provision also prohibited vendors from wearing sleeveless tops, “dirty or tattered clothes” and slippers.

“I think it is wrong to interpret that this applies to the general public,” Arcangel told the Inquirer.

He said that the city police were more focused on people who go out without shirts in public, not those who were wearing short shorts.

Data from the Northern Police District showed that in the past week, 289 people were cited for going out shirtless.