Congress urged to pass anti-spitting in public measure
Published Mar 18, 2020 12:00 am
By Charissa Luci-AtienzaÂ
Quezon City 2nd district Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo urged Congress on Wednesday to pass a measure seeking to prohibit spitting in public spaces.
Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo (FACEBOOK/ Precious Hipolito/MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
She said the increasing number of cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)Â in the country warrants the immediate passage of House Bill No. 3693, the proposed National Spitting Ban Act.
"The approval is important and urgent. The DOH (Department of Health) and WHO (World Health Organization) validated on several directives that COVID-19 can easily be transmitted through droplets. With the pandemic now, the law to penalize spitting will greatly help to contain the dreaded virus," she told the Manila Bulletin in a text message.
"I will ask the President and Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to prioritize it in the legislative agenda, considering lives are at stake," she said.
Castelo made the call after Manila City Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso signed Ordinance No. 8621, the Anti-Spitting Ordinance of 2020, that prohibits any person from "spitting or expelling saliva, phlegm, mucus, or other substances from the mouth and/or nose in public places."
The ordinance, which slaps a penalty of P1,000 fine for first-time offenders, will take effect on Friday.
Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin earlier urged the House Committee on Health, chaired by Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelina "Helen" Tan to immediately jumpstart the discussion on Castelo's measure.
The bill was originally filed in the 17th Congress by Castelo's husband, former Quezon City 2nd district Rep. Winston Castelo.
Garin, a former DOH Secretary, said the measure has been pending with the House Committee on Health since August 18, 2019.
"We have to prod the Committee on Health to tackle this bill and pass this. This is not only the answer to coronavirus, but also to other infectious diseases," she said.
In filing HB 3693, Castelo said spitting in public should effectively be outlawed, saying that it is "highly unhygienic and risky."
"Spitting has been identified as a factor in the spread of tuberculosis. Recent study shows that the number of deaths due to TB stands at an average of 75 Filipinos every day," she said.
She noted that in the Philippines, only Davao City has effectively implemented an anti-spitting law, which has been in force since 2010.
"Empirical data reveal that a number of people are in the habit of spitting in public places. This unsanitary practice has to stop. Allowing this practice to go unchecked puts the health of our countrymen at great risk," Castelo said.
Quezon City Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo (FACEBOOK/ Precious Hipolito/MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
She said the increasing number of cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)Â in the country warrants the immediate passage of House Bill No. 3693, the proposed National Spitting Ban Act.
"The approval is important and urgent. The DOH (Department of Health) and WHO (World Health Organization) validated on several directives that COVID-19 can easily be transmitted through droplets. With the pandemic now, the law to penalize spitting will greatly help to contain the dreaded virus," she told the Manila Bulletin in a text message.
"I will ask the President and Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano to prioritize it in the legislative agenda, considering lives are at stake," she said.
Castelo made the call after Manila City Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso signed Ordinance No. 8621, the Anti-Spitting Ordinance of 2020, that prohibits any person from "spitting or expelling saliva, phlegm, mucus, or other substances from the mouth and/or nose in public places."
The ordinance, which slaps a penalty of P1,000 fine for first-time offenders, will take effect on Friday.
Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin earlier urged the House Committee on Health, chaired by Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelina "Helen" Tan to immediately jumpstart the discussion on Castelo's measure.
The bill was originally filed in the 17th Congress by Castelo's husband, former Quezon City 2nd district Rep. Winston Castelo.
Garin, a former DOH Secretary, said the measure has been pending with the House Committee on Health since August 18, 2019.
"We have to prod the Committee on Health to tackle this bill and pass this. This is not only the answer to coronavirus, but also to other infectious diseases," she said.
In filing HB 3693, Castelo said spitting in public should effectively be outlawed, saying that it is "highly unhygienic and risky."
"Spitting has been identified as a factor in the spread of tuberculosis. Recent study shows that the number of deaths due to TB stands at an average of 75 Filipinos every day," she said.
She noted that in the Philippines, only Davao City has effectively implemented an anti-spitting law, which has been in force since 2010.
"Empirical data reveal that a number of people are in the habit of spitting in public places. This unsanitary practice has to stop. Allowing this practice to go unchecked puts the health of our countrymen at great risk," Castelo said.