City deputizes additional smoke-free enforcers

The City Government through the Smoke-Free Baguio Task Force deputized community volunteers, security, and traffic personnel to enforce Ordinance 34 series of 2017 or the Smoke-Free Baguio Ordinance.
The enforcers underwent a two-day training conducted at the City Health Services Office on March 17-28, 2025 under a battery of resource persons.
The initiative aims to further strengthen the city’s commitment and advocacy for a smoke-free Baguio to protect people from the harmful effects of smoking and vaping.
The task force said the additional enforcers are volunteers from the different barangays, security guards from the Ex-Bataan Security Agency, traffic and parking aides from the City Engineering Office-Transport and Traffic Management Division and police officers from the Baguio City Police Office Traffic Enforcement Unit, Tourist Police Unit, and Mobile Patrol Unit.
They were trained on how to properly apprehend and issue citation tickets to violators, among other procedures of ordinance enforcement.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong said that every year, the city targets augmentation of smoke-free enforcers to be deployed in the central business district and in the community considering that most of the violators are at the barangay level.
With the increasing incidents of vape use among the youth, the city wants to make sure that the youth are monitored and advised not to use any smoking devices and young children are protected from the ill effects of tobacco and the electronic kind.
The resource persons during the seminar were Dr. Panes, lawyer Hannah Calitong of the City Legal Office, Permits and Licensing Division officer-in-charge Geraldine Angulo, PCpl. Jeefford Calpi of the BCPO-TEU, Public Order and Safety Division Head Darryl Kim Longid, CHSO Budget Officer Ronan Cabuag, Sanitation Inspector Rufino Madlon, Sherwin Mole and Estephany Ticquey of the City Treasury Office. **Aileen P. Refuerzo