Lim orders more rigid implementation of curfew for minors

MANILA, Feb. 9 (PNA) -- With the school season about to end, Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim ordered on Monday a more rigid implementation of the curfew ordinance which prohibits minors from loitering the streets from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Lim said during the schoolbreak, students will have less preoccupation and more time to spend going out with friends.

“It is therefore not remote that these kids will also stay out on the streets even during unholy hours and inevitably expose themselves to the dangers that lurk in the night,” he noted.

The mayor cited a recent incident he saw on television, where a group of youngsters initially engaging in joyful play suddenly ended up in a brawl, to the point where their elder siblings joined in the fray.

Although the said unfortunate incident did not happen in Manila, Lim said the possibility that the same thing may occur in any part of the country remains.

Lim also called upon the barangay officials to help the city government in ensuring that children are kept off the streets during the `barangay curfew hours.’

He stressed it is only through the full cooperation of barangay officials, from the chairman down to the councilmen, when the implementation of the said ordinance is guaranteed to succeed.

In the same breadth, he appealed to the parents to do their share by making sure that their children are already home when the clock strikes 10 p.m.

The curfew hours, as embodied in City Ordinance 8046, apply to minors aged below 18.

Aside from barangay officials, the police are also authorized to apprehend violators who will be held at the barangay hall or holding center while the parents, relatives or guardian of the minor concerned are being contacted for turnover.

An offender who is homeless, abandoned or neglected, or has no known parent or relative, will be referred to the custody of the Manila Youth Reception Center or the City Hall’s social welfare department. (PNA)
LDV/JES