The Davao City Police Office said it is now coordinating with barangays to track down arrested violators of the face mask ordinance, who had been unresponsive insofar as settling their penalties.
DCPO Spokesperson, Major Ma. Teresita Gaspan, in a press conference Wednesday at The Royal Mandaya Hotel expressed dismay over the significant number of citations the DCPO had to issue for violations of Davao City’s face mask ordinance.
“Daghan kaayo tag nadakpan. Og karon, medyo naglisud gani ta kay kadtong na-issuehan og citation, ubay-ubay ato for verification. Meaning to say, wala pa namayad sa administrative penalty”. (“We caught a lot of violators. And now, we are having a hard time because most of those who received citations have yet to pay the administrative penalty.)
According to the DCPO spokesperson, 10, 941 individuals were apprehended for violating the city’s face mask ordinance. The figure involved citations from January 1 to May 14, 2022.
Of the 10,941 violators, only 3, 209 paid the P500 fine. A total of 7,732 individuals failed to pay the penalty and may soon be facing charges.
The spokesperson said the city police is intensifying its coordination with barangay units to trace face mask ordinance violators as it warned against failure to pay the administrative penalty. Major Gaspan also urged those who received citations to process the payment of their dues.
“Intensified ang among efforts sa pag-coordinate sa atong mga barangay officials para ma-locate ni na mga tawhana, mga na-issuehan og citation para makabayad sila sa administrative penalty og dili na mag-proceed ilang kaso … Gitagaan sila og 3 days nga i-process nila and pagbayad sa nearest district treasurer’s office. Apan ubay-ubay gyud ang mga na-issuehan og citation nga wala pa nakabayad. So, mu-proceed gyud ilang kaso ani. Matingala na lang sila pagkuha nila og police clearance or NBI clearance naa sila’y makita didto na naa sila’y record. Giawhag namo ang tanan, labi natong na-issuehan, na mubayad sa penalty”. (We are intensifying our coordination efforts with the barangay officials so we can locate those who were issued citations but failed to pay the administrative penalty. These people were given 3 days to process payment at the nearest district treasurer’s office. However, most of them failed to pay so they will be charged. They might be surprised upon applying for police or NBI clearance that this violation is reflected on their record. We urge everyone issued citations to pay the penalty.)
The DCPO has filed cases against 2,629 individuals who failed to take appropriate actions with their citation while 5, 103 are up for verification. CIO
