THE Supreme Court on Tuesday stopped the governments of Manila, Navotas and Quezon City from imposing curfews on minors and ordered the three local government units to comment on a petition filed by a group of residents and students who opposed the city ordinances.
The LGUs were given 10 days to submit their comments.
Last week, a group of residents and students called Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan (Spark) challenged ordinances in the three cities that imposed curfew hours on people below 18 years old.
Named respondents in the petition were Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada and Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco.
The justices this week granted the petitioners’ request for a temporary restraining order to stop the three city governments from enforcing their curfew ordinances pending the resolution of the case.
The petitioners said that the curfew ordinances were unconstitutional because they result in arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. They also said the ordinances were too broad because they impaired legitimate activities of minors during curfew hours. Minors, they argued, were deprived of their right to liberty and the right to travel without due process, and parents, too, were deprived of their natural and primary right to rear their youth.
The petition also said the Manila City curfew ordinance was invalid because it violated the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.
Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista on Tuesday said the city welcomed the opportunity to obtain guidance from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the ordinance. With Rio N. Araja
