24-hour liquor ban in city sought

ILOILO CITY ,Philippines  — A 24-hour liquor ban should be enforced all over the metropolis, instead of the 5-hour ban as sought by a resolution now pending at the City Council.

This was the proposal of Senior Supt. Marietto Valerio, city police director, who called on the Council to make the ban on a 24-hour basis.

"We have noted that a lot of crimes happened because of drunkenness," said Valerio, citing that from January to September last year, the city's total crime volume was 4,971. Of the number, 6.14 percent were liquor-related incidents, he said.

For the same period this year, the city's total crime volume dropped to 1,093 incidents, or by 450 percent, but Valerio said that crimes arising from drinking liquor increased by 14.6 percent.

"I believed that regulating the drinking of liquor would help curb crime incidents," Valerio said.

There is at present a resolution banning the drinking of liquor in public places, which meant that restaurants could still serve alcoholic drinks provided that they secure a permit to sell liquor in their establishments.

The latest proposed resolution, sponsored by Councilors Joshua Alim and Rodel Agado, of the Committee on Police, Public Safety, Order and Security, Dangerous Drugs and Rehabilitation, seeks to ban liquor between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. It has been through first reading already.

Valerio however said: "For me, medyo kulang siya kasi ang ibang mga tao, wala namang pinipiling oras ng pag-inom."

He said he already made his proposal known to the Council to make the liquor ban in effect for 24 hours. "It's for the members of the city council to determine what's good for the majority of the people," he added.

When liquor ban is in effect in Metro Manila, the PNP noted a decrease in crime incidents. "I hope that our businessmen who are into the business of selling liquor would see the wisdom of my proposal," Valerio said, explaining that what he is after for is the security of every city resident.