DAVAO CITY –— Members of the city police are now tracking down individuals who failed to pay their fines after caught violating the city’s face mask ordinance.
In a statement released by the City Information Office (CIO) its stated that the city police are now coordinating with the barangays to track down arrested violators of the face mask ordinance, who had been unresponsive insofar as settling their penalties.
DCPO Spokesperson, Major Ma. Teresita Gaspan, in a press conference on Wednesday said police personnel are disheartened over the significant number of citations tickets that they have to issue to individuals for their failure to wear face mask when it is for their own benefit, to protect hem against the virus.
Of those apprehended, a considerable number has yet to pay their penalties as the police continue to verify their identities and their addresses as recorded.
Police records show, 10, 941 individuals were apprehended for violating the city’s face mask ordinance. The figure involved citations from January 1 to May 14, 2022.
Of the 10,941 violators, only 3, 209 paid the P500 fine. A total of 7,732 individuals failed to pay the penalty and may soon be facing charges.
The spokesperson said the city police is intensifying its coordination with barangay units to trace face mask ordinance violators as it warned against failure to pay the administrative penalty. Major Gaspan also urged those who received citations to process the payment of their dues.
The city police strengthened its effort to coordinate with the barangay officials to help them locate those who were issued citations but failed to pay the administrative penalty.
According to the city ordinance, individuals who were issued citation tickets have 3 days to process payment at the nearest district treasurer’s office. Sad enough, most of them failed to pay and the next option is to charged them before the court.
They might be surprised upon applying for police or NBI clearance that this violation is reflected on their record, Gaspan added.
The city police is urging everyone issued citations to pay the penalty to avoid complications.
The DCPO has filed cases against 2,629 individuals who failed to take appropriate actions with their citation while 5, 103 are up for verification.-with CIO report
