Court asked to stop MMDA campaign vs smoking in public

Two smokers have taken the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to court after they were fined for smoking in public.

In their petition, security guards Antony Clemente and Vrianne Lamsen asked the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court to stop the MMDA from implementing a ban on smoking in public places in Metro Manila.

The two were apprehended by an MMDA enforcer after they were caught smoking on the sidewalk on Edsa, near Farmers Market in Cubao, Quezon City, on July 6.

According to their lawyer Jesus de la Paz, the two paid a fine of P500 each.

De la Paz told the Inquirer that the petitioners “were ordinary bystanders” who shared the sentiment of the majority of smokers that the MMDA was going beyond what was stated in the law in its anti-smoking campaign.

De la Paz told the Inquirer that the area where the two security guards were caught smoking was not covered by Republic Act No. 9211, or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.

Under RA 9211, smoking is prohibited in public places defined as “enclosed or confined areas of all hospitals, medical clinics, schools, public transportation terminals and offices, and buildings such as private and public offices, recreational places, shopping malls, movie houses, hotels, restaurants and the like.”

De la Paz said that the law does not mention roads and sidewalks as public places where smoking is prohibited.

“We also contest the authority of the MMDA to collect fees and impose punishment [on] supposed violators,” he added.

Asked what motivated the petitioners to resort to legal action, De la Paz said the employer of the two had prodded them to take action.

They were the first to challenge the MMDA drive, which has so far resulted in the apprehension of nearly 3,000 public smokers since July 1.