Caloocan to review dress code over ‘short shorts’

MANILA, Philippines — The Caloocan City government would review its dress code ordinance after a woman complained of being accosted for wearing “short shorts,” Mayor Oscar Malapitan said yesterday.

In an interview over dzRH, Malapitan said he “will ask the city council to review” City Ordinance 0439, which was enacted in 2007 and prescribed what residents should wear in public.

“If it has to be repealed, I will ask (the council) to repeal” the ordinance, he said.

A woman who was about to deliver products to a customer was accosted and issued an ordinance violation receipt by a policeman for violating the dress code ordinance by wearing “short shorts,” GMA News reported.

The woman initially thought she was being accosted for not wearing a face mask outdoors.

Malapitan believes the ordinance was supposed to apply to people wearing shorts that “almost reveal the underwear.” The ordinance defined “short shorts” as “trousers covering less than one-fourth of the lower torso and legs.”

“But I saw the picture, the shorts were quite long,” he added, and recalled it was his second time to encounter the issue as mayor.

Malapitan said he summoned the woman to city hall on Monday to find out if she wished to file a complaint.

City administrator Oliver Hernandez told dzBB the ordinance would be in effect as long as it is not repealed or amended.

He added that the police officer involved in the incident would be investigated for not apprehending the woman for failing to wear a face mask.

According to the dress code ordinance, residents should be “properly and decently attired” while outdoors. Market vendors and public transport drivers should wear the following: T-shirt, blouse or any top apparel with sleeves; pants or skirt; shoes, sandals or step-in; and apron for vendors in the market’s wet section and carinderia.

Market vendors are also prohibited from being half-naked and from wearing shorts, short shorts, sando or any sleeveless shirt or blouse, dirty or tattered clothes and slippers.

Those doing outdoor exercise should wear shorts, T-shirt, sando, jogging pants and rubber shoes, and should not be seen without any shirt.

City police, barangay officials and concerned city government units shall punish violators with a reprimand on first offense; a P500 fine on second offense; a P1,000 fine and two days in jail on third offense and community service for those who cannot pay fines.