2 June 2025
ILOILO CITY – The local government here has been proactive in its anti-smoking campaign, according to Iloilo City Anti-Smoking Task Force (ICAST) executive director Iñigo Garingalao on Monday.
“The enforcement campaign in Iloilo City is continuous. We are regularly updating our ordinances to really face this threat. This is ongoing and it has to be sustainable,” Garingalao said in an interview.
The city is strict in tobacco advertisements, promotions and sponsorships. It also has sustained awareness campaigns for all ages, promotes smoke-free establishments and events, engages in inter-office collaborations, and ties up with the Philippine National Police (PNP) for enforcement, among others.
Iloilo City’s Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance prohibits smoking and vaping in public places and transport utilities.
Citation tickets are issued to violators, with a corresponding fine of PHP1,500 and/or imprisonment for three days upon the discretion of the court for first offense; PHP2,000 and/or five days imprisonment upon the discretion of the court for second offense; and PHP5,000 and/or 10 days imprisonment upon court discretion for the third and succeeding violations.
Establishments with no anti-smoking signage or those that display advertisements of cigarette companies may face up to a PHP5,000 fine and/or suspension of permits to operate or closure.
Garingalao said he is proposing an anti-smoking orientation with the City Health Office, Iloilo Medical Society and PNP, down to the community level.
Garingalao lauded the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for calling on local government units (LGUs) to pass ordinances supporting the enforcement of laws regulating tobacco, vapor and vaporized nicotine products.
He said there are LGUs that need to review their ordinances, noting that there is already a template that they can use.
For those that already have ordinances, the challenge is enforcement and sustainability, Garingalao said.
“For us, we have been sustaining it and enforcing it since 2010,” he said of Iloilo City.
In 2024, Iloilo City was conferred the first Association of Southeast Asian Nations Smoke-free Award, the highest recognition by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, a multi-sectoral alliance based in Thailand that helps member countries develop and put in place their tobacco control policies. (PNA)