Baguio bans noisy nights; Barangay to implement the ordinance

BAGUIO CITY – Wanting to provide residents the chance to have a proper rest, the city council approves an ordinance prohibiting excessively loud sounds at night.
Authored by Councilor Edgar Avila, the Silent Night Ordinance gives authority to barangay chiefs, in coordination with the Barangay Peace and Order Council, to admonish persons who cause or make “excessive, unnecessary, or unusually loud sounds” from audio devices within residential areas, subdivisions and public streets from 10pm to 5am.
The barangay officials can also call the city police for assistance in reprimanding or arresting violators.
Violators will be given a verbal order to tone down the noise but if the violation is deemed excessive, violators will be fined P1,000 or imprisoned for up to six months for first offense; P3,000 for the second; and P5,000 for the third offense.
The ordinance states that videokes or karaokes, as a favorite local pastime, may be allowed until midnight but a permit will have to be secured from the punong barangay five days before their intended use.
“At times, our people are deprived of the well deserved peace because of rowdy, noisy parties or gatherings in the neighborhood and neighbors and strangers who take for granted the well-being of others and think only of their own enjoyment, thus a need to address this basic community concern,” Avila noted.
Exemptions from implementation of the ordinance are during Christmas season, All Saints and All Souls Days, other national or local holidays, Baguio Flower Festival, wakes and other occasions provided that the residents secure permit from the barangay. MELANIE P. ANGA-ANGAN / ABN

Amianan Balita Ngayon