Bistek: Some QC villages can still have own curfews

DESPITE the Supreme Court ruling that suspended the curfew ordinance of Quezon City, Mayor Herbert Bautista clarified on Wednesday that barangay (village) officials and public safety officers can still enforce their own restrictions on minors in their respective areas.

In a statement on Wednesday, Bautista said a number of villages out of the city’s 142 barangays could still impose curfews based on their own ordinances. A list of these villages is expected to be released soon by City Hall.

Bautista explained that the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the SC covered only City Ordinance No. 2301 or the Quezon City Discipline Hours for Minors, which sets a city-wide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

He noted that the ruling does not stop the enforcement agencies of the city “from acting to protect the public from threats to their lives and properties.”

“In the barangay level, they have ordinances on curfew and they can enforce this to protect the properties and lives of others. If we feel that a crime is being committed, we also have citizen’s arrest,” he stressed.

The TRO, issued by the high tribunal on Tuesday, also covered the curfew ordinances of Manila and Navotas City. It was issued after a youth organization last week filed a petition questioning the constitutionality of the longtime measures, which the police started enforcing more aggressively at the onset of the Duterte administration.

The Quezon City ordinance was passed in 2014 and penalizes offenders with a P2,000 fine or 48 hours of community service. It exempts minors who are accompanied by their parents or those who are on their way to school or organizations holding nighttime activities.