ANTI-SPITTING ORDINANCE OF ILOILO CITYAn Ordinance Prohibiting Spitting in Public Places in the City of Iloilo

I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

With almost every countrys vulnerability from global pandemics such as contagious airborne diseases, there is an urgent need to control hazardous society habits. The health of the people is compromised by the continued unhygienic practice of spitting in public places.

An anti-spitting law was first implemented in France in 1880, followed by the United States of America in 1896. Since then, more and more countries have followed the examples of France and the US by passing their own anti-spitting laws. For some countries especially in the west, it is considered as a social taboo to spit while in other countries like ours, it is accepted in the least possible way. In the Philippines, only in Davao City that an anti-spitting ordinance has been vigorously implemented since 2010 following anti-spitting laws also enforced in Singapore, India, Malaysia and China.

Articles 694 and 695 of the New Civil Code, considers spitting as a nuisance. Nuisance as an act, omission, establishment, business, condition of property or anything else which injures or endangers the health and safety of others which may be classified as public if it affects a community or neighborhood.

In 2013, House Bill 299 (An Act prohibiting Spitting in Public Places) was passed by Representative Eulogio Magsaysay of AVE Partylist and remains to be a bill despite batting of swift passage by the Department of Health. Stipulated in the 1987 Constitution on the Declaration of State Policies:

Art II, Section 15: The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

Implementation of such ordinance will be a measure aimed at helping control the spread of tuberculosis and such other highly communicable diseases. It will be formulated based on the States declaration of policies, rules and regulations concerning public health safety with some modifications aligned to the progressive objectives of Iloilo City.

II. HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS

Spitting has been identified as one of the factors in the spread of TB, which, though curable, ranks 6th among the top leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the Philippines.Recent data reveal that the number of deaths due to TB stands at an average of 75 Filipinos every day (2013, Media Relations-PRIB).III. OVERVIEW OF THE ANTI-SPITTING ORDINANCE

The ordinance mandates the Iloilo City Council to lead in implementing the provisions of the proposed regulation. Patterned from the House Bill 299 and all other Iloilo City ordinances, the Anti-Spitting Ordinance will cover:

Anyone who intentionally or carelessly expectorates or spits upon any public sidewalk, or upon any place used exclusively or principally by pedestrians, or, except in receptacles provided for the purpose, in or upon any part of any city or town hall, any court house or court room, any public library or museum, any church or theatre, any lecture or music hall, factory, any hall of any tenement building occupied by five or more families, any school building, any ferry boat or steamboat, any railroad car or elevated railroad car, any street railway car, any railroad or railway station or waiting room, or on any track, platform or sidewalk connected therewith, and included within the limits thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than 2,000 pesos.

(*Definition of terms as in Sec 3. Of HB 299)

A. Spitting- the act of expectorating carelessly or intentionally saliva, phlegm, mucus, or other substancesB. Saliva- a clear tasteless, odorless, slightly acidic acid, consisting of the secretion from the parotid, sublingual and submandibular salivary glands and the mucous glands of the oral cavity.C. Phlegm- abnormal amounts especially as expectorated from the mouth.D. Mucus- the clear viscid secretion of the mucuous membranesE. Other substances- those not included in the foregoing definitions but are determined by the Department of Health as in the same class like the above.

Any person caught spitting in a public place will be fined:

P 500 for the first offense P 1,000 for the second offense P 2,000 for the third offense Those who are caught for the third time will also be required to attend a health seminar or face a jail term not exceeding six months.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION TARGET

Nuisance such as spitting persist if enforcement and information dissemination are weak. This issue will be addressed with a coordinated implementation and monitoring arm headed by the Department of Health through the City Health Office, in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology. They shall conduct seminars and provide guidelines including the Implementing Rules and Regulations on the enforcement of the Anti-Spitting Ordinance. Appropriations required in the implementation of the act shall be sourced from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the LGUs.

V. SUGGESTIONS

Citizens must exercise due restraints in spitting.Healthy practice should start from the home.Teachers, especially in public schools, should teach their students proper hygiene. People should have sanitary bags, so that everything is disposed properly.

The Anti-Spitting Bill should become a law because there is no present law that prohibits spitting in public. It is for the welfare of the people, especially for our health and our safety. If the bill becomes a law, we can eradicate Tuberculosis by 50%, and the lives of the Filipinos can be improved because of a more healthy living deeming greater productivity.

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