THE Cebu City Council has amended the Anti-Noise Ordinance to include the ban on the use of karaoke machines or other items that cause loud noises in residential areas during weekdays and Saturdays while the city is in a state of public health emergency.
The council approved the amendment to City Ordinance 309 on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021.
The public is allowed to use loud noise-causing machines only on Sundays and only up to 6 p.m.
The machines which are prohibited include but are not limited to high-sounding, high-powered and amplified machines, radios, audio systems, CD players and musical instruments.
Violators can be fined not more than P5,000 or face imprisonment of not more than six months, or both, depending on the discretion of the court.
City Councilor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who authored the amendatory ordinance, said students currently doing online classes and employees in work-from-home arrangements have complained about the noise.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, schools, government agencies and private establishments have been forced to adopt distance learning and work-from-home schemes to limit, if not avoid, exposure and gatherings.
“For the preservation of public peace and order and to provide a conducive learning and working atmosphere for the residents of the City of Cebu, it is imperative that loud noises be curbed,” said Garcia.
Garcia clarified that this provision will be implemented only during states of public health emergency.
The whole country is currently under a state of public health emergency to curtail and eliminate the threat of the coronavirus.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), one of the implementing offices of the ordinance, supports the move.
CCPO Director Col. Josefino Ligan said the public needs to be considerate of the students and employees who are working under the new normal.
The Department of Education Cebu City Division also commends the measure so employees and students will not be disturbed while doing their respective duties at home.
The ordinance will take effect 15 days following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation in Cebu City. / JJL