KALIBO, Aklan—The local government here has announced that the smoking ban in public places will take effect today (March 23).
Councilor Cynthia Dela Cruz, chairman of the municipal council’s Committee on Health, said the implementation would start soon after the required local publication of the ordinance.
The “no smoking and no vaping” in public places is embodied in Municipal Ordinance 2016-008. Violators may be fined with as much as P2,500.
“The anti-smoking ordinance includes 18 provisions, including no smoking and no vaping in public places and conveyances, and no selling to minors,” Dela Cruz said Wednesday.
The violators would be apprehended not only by Kalibo’s auxiliary policemen, but also by several volunteers who were previously trained by resource persons from Manila and the Iloilo City Anti-Smoking Task Force or ICAST.
“Tourists coming to Kalibo will be informed of the new comprehensive ordinance on ‘no smoking, no vaping’ in public places,” she added.
Kalibo is a gateway to Boracay Island in Malay, which is expected to teem with local and foreign tourists as the summer hits its peak in April and May.