San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora on Monday, July 1, vowed that the city government will do better in the next celebration of Wattah! Wattah! Festival following the chaos that ensued in this year's festivities.
(Photo by Mark Balmores)
Zamora made the promise after the city received backlash from the public due to some unruly San Juaneños who harassed motorists and other individuals during the conduct of its "basaan" (water-dousing) tradition symbolizing the baptism of Jesus Christ by the city's patron saint, St. John the Baptist on July 24.
Viral videos and photos during the festivities showed people, even those inside their vehicles and public utility vehicles (PUVs), being doused with water by some residents despite them telling not to.
"We will amend our existing ordinance kasi 2018 ordinance po yan, hindi pa po ako mayor nyan, and base nga sa mga nangyari nitong mga nakaraang araw dahil sa aming kapistahan, we will amend the ordinance to include all other violations tulad nitong nangyari sa mga nakamotor. Yan po ay i-aamend natin. Meron kasing loop holes yung existing ordinance and I recognize that (We will amend our existing ordinance that was created in 2018, during the time when I was not yet a mayor, because of the incidents that occurred during the festivities. We will amend the ordinance to also include all other violations such as the dousing of water on motorcycle riders. There are loop holes in the existing ordinance and I recognize that)," Zamora said in a radio interview.
"We will strengthen it and maximize all possible penalties dahil nga may limitation din po kasi ang city ordinance. Hanggang P5,000 lang talaga yan at yan po ay nasa ilalim ng Local Government Code. Gustuhin man natin taasan po ang multa, eh may limitasyon base po sa batas. Kaya mas mabuti nang Revised Penal Code ang gamitin dahil dyan, pwede talaga sila makulong (We will strengthen it (2018 ordinance) and maximize all possible penalties because of its limitations. Even if we want to increase the amount of penalty, the Local Government Code limits the value of city ordinance penalties to a maximum of P5,000 only. Hence, I urge those who would like to file charges against unruly residents during the fiesta to use the Revised Penal Code so that they may be put to jail)," he added.
Aside from amending the city ordinance, the city government will also designate a "basaan zone" which is an area designated by the local government unit (LGU) where the conduct of "basaan" can be done to prevent the repeat of such incidents in the next celebration of the festival.
"Inannounce ko na din po na magkakaroon tayo ng "basaan zone" sa susunod nating kapistahan dito sa Pinaglabanan road (I have also announced that we will have a "basaan zone" in the next celebration of the festival here in Pinaglabanan road)," Zamora noted, adding that its creation allows the city government to have a certain area where the water-dousing activity should only be held.
This area could be avoided by those who are not joining the festivities.
"Babawi tayo, babawi ang San Juan. Yes, nangyari na po ito. Unfortunately, dahil sa ilang mga tao, ay nagkaroon tayo ng ganitong kaguluhan at nakasira sa aming reputasyon at imahe. Ngunit sinabi ko na babawi tayo as a city. We will show everyone that we will make up for this and we will do better next time (We, in the city government and the whole city of San Juan, will make up for this. Yes, the incidents have already happened and we cannot take it back anymore. Unfortunately, the image and reputation of the city and its residents have been tarnished due to some unruly people. But I assure everyone that we, as a city, will recover from it. We will show everyone that we will make up for this and we will do better next time)," the mayor noted.