PA 203 - THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

“POLICY ANALYSIS ON THE SMOKING BAN ORDINANCES IN BARANGAY

GUBAT, DAET, CAMARINES NORTE”

RATIONALE:

The Philippines is one of 15 countries worldwide with a heavy burden of tobacco-

related ill health. Annually, 87, 600 Filipinos die from tobacco-related diseases. Tobacco
costs the country Php 188 billion (US$ 4 billion) yearly from healthcare expenditures,
foregone income from getting sick and from premature death, from only four of more
than 40 smoking-related diseases namely lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, heart disease and stroke. This did not consider the cost and grief of losing a
loved one.
Hence, the country recognizes that tobacco control is not only a public health
priority but also a key development issue which affects overall quality of life and well-
being. Tobacco use is the leading global cause of preventable death. The tobacco
epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.
The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes nearly 6 million deaths a year to
tobacco. This figure is expected to rise to more than 8 million deaths a year by 2030.
Concerned about the impact of tobacco use, the Department of Health (DOH) has
assured that it is looking for ways to address the issue. The DOH stressed that the
effects of smoking should not be underestimated, “thus, efforts to collect an accurate
assessment of the status of tobacco use has been intensified.” A notable percentage of
tobacco users specifically in Barangay Gubat are young as aged between 13 to 17
years old.
As this is already a growing concern in the Barangay, this Resolution Amending
the Implementation of Comprehensive “No Smoking Ordinance” in Accordance with
R.A. 9211 also known as Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 has been adopted to
guarantee the safety of the barangay constituents who would carry out their
responsibility in nation-building, preclude minors from smoking, penalize those who
assist them to buy cigarettes and punish establishments that sell cigarettes or any other
tobacco products to minors.

The main purpose of this policy analysis is to adopt and implement the guidelines
of Republic Act No. 9211 also known as Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 in Barangay
Gubat, Daet, Camarines Norte to fully protect the public health, general welfare’s
interests, and social well-being of the constituents and stakeholders.

PROBLEMS:

Republic Act No. 9211, or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003, prohibits smoking
in certain public places, and prohibits the purchase and sale of cigarettes and other
tobacco products to and by minors and in certain places frequented by minors and
provides penalties for any violation of the prohibitions.
A portion of the law is specifically designed to strictly restrict access by minors to
tobacco products. This includes the prohibition of sale and distribution of tobacco
products within one hundred (100) meters from any point of the perimeter of a school,
public playground or other facility frequented particularly by minors (Section 10, Id.).
Perimeter, as defined by the implementing rules and regulations of the law, refers to any
point in the boundaries as indicated in the Original Certificate of Title or Transfer
Certificate of Title of the tract of land that is actually used or occupied by a school,
public playground or other facility frequented particularly by persons below eighteen
(18) years of age, whether the tract of land is separated from adjacent tracts by a wall or
fence (IAC-Tobacco Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2004).
Hence, concealed selling of cigarettes to minors by some sari-sari storeowners in
the Barangay are still rampant and a notable number of minors can be seen clearly
smoking in public places without considering the harmful effects to themselves at their
young age and the hazards of second-hand smokes to a non-smoker.
Tobacco smoking is a reprehensible habit that has spread all over the world as
an epidemic. It reduces the life expectancy among smokers. It increases overall medical
costs and contributes to the loss of productivity during the life span. Smoking has been
shown to be linked with various neurological, cardiovascular, and pulmonary diseases.
Cigarette smoke not only affects the smokers but also contributes to the health
problems of the non-smokers. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke contributes to
health problems in children and is a significant risk factor for asthma. Cigarette smoke
contains several carcinogens that alter biochemical defense systems leading to lung
cancer.
Tobacco smoke contains many chemicals that are harmful to both smokers and
non-smokers. Breathing even a little tobacco smoke can be harmful.

Table 1. Data of Barangay Survey 2019

Number of Number of Non- Total Number of

Smokers Smokers Household
476 1029 1705

In 2019, the barangay has a total number of 1,705 household. The Barangay
Health Workers (BHW) has conducted a survey, and as a result, out of the 1,705
household, 28% are smokers.
Showing these data, even an existing national policy, municipal and barangay
ordinances, proper implementation and monitoring is merely missing. The complexities
in enforcement are also considered an impediment in controlling individuals from
smoking in all enclosed workplaces and public places and also averting the minors to
purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products.

POLICY ALTERNATIVES:
The Policy Alternatives to address the problems that arises from smoking in
public places and its adverse effect are as follows, viz:

o Minimum Age for Access to Tobacco Products - Proof of Age Verification:

Sec.14 of the IRR, in case of doubt as to the age of the buyer, retailers shall
verify, by means of any valid form of identification paper containing both the
 photograph and the date of birth of the bearer, such as, but not limited to,
passport, driver’s license, SSS identification card, postal identification card and
the like, that the buyer is at least eighteen (18) years old. It was stated on the
ordinance that a minor should not be able to access/purchase/use of any tobacco
products, however, there are no guidelines as to proof of age verification. Based
on the survey, some of the stores sell cigarettes to minors without verifying their
age. Common reason is that the minors were just told to buy by their parents and
the other reason is that they need the income.

o Community Service as a form of Punishment to Minors: Sec. 16, B. of

barangay ordinance states :

If a minor is caught selling, buying or smoking cigarettes or any other tobacco products,
the provisions of Article 189 or Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise known as the
Child and Youth Welfare Code, as amended, shall apply.

FINES AND PENALTIES 1ST OFFENSE 2ND OFFENSE 3RD OFFENSE

For Individual Violators P500.00 P1,000.00 P2,000.00

For Business Establishments P1,000.00 P1,500.00 P2,500.00

fines to be shouldered by And
manager, supervisor or head of Business
office. Permit/Licensed to
Operate shall be
cancelled or revoked.

Based on our group observation, since minors are involved we

recommend that non-monetary penalty should be impose such as community
service together with their parents or guardian. It can be a form of counselling
program to educate the minors about health issues and harmful effects to other
people or the community.

o Prohibit retail selling of cigarettes of sari-sari store: Prohibit sari-sari store

owners from retail selling of cigarettes. The Senate approved the bill of raising
excise taxes on cigarettes, many sari-sari store owners are divided whether they
will continue selling cigarettes even at a higher price. We recommend this
alternative policy since price of cigarettes will be higher and the minors and some
of the residents will not afford to buy a pack of cigarettes. If the store violates this
policy, their barangay business permit will be revoked/not be renewed.
EVALUATING POLICY ALTERNATIVES:

The identification of the recommended alternatives is based on the views of the

persons involved in the implementation of the policy. The evaluation of the policy
considered five main criteria: efficiency, equity, administration, political viability and
improvability.

a. Efficiency - proposed policy measures the extent to which policy maximizes

the benefits of individuals in the barangay including policy makers,
implementers and the public in general. It assesses the extent to which the
alternative achieves the policy objective relative to the cost of implementation
as compared to other options. Alternatives with the higher rate in efficiency
would be more cost effective than other alternatives.
-c/o Sir Alex
This criterion refers to what a policy or policy proposal costs in relation to its
expected benefits to society. Furthermore, efficiency is sometimes described
as a desire to realize the greatest possible benefit out of the expenditures that
government realizes. Thus, considering a policy proposal’s economic
feasibility means asking whether it is “affordable” or will be considered a
good use of public funds in an era when all programs compete for such funds.
Like for example, why not jogging routine instead of buying exercise machine
for yourself to achieve your goal in losing weight? It’s simply called an
economic efficiency. Hence, from the policy per se, let us give more room to
our government of a possible benefit out of the expenditures.

b. Equity – focuses on the different results of the policy on the key economic
factors in the market system including policy makers, implementers and the
general public. It gives emphasis whether these key players will be treated
fairly relative to their situation and their relationship with other individuals prior
to the implementation of the policy.
-c/o Ma’am Cherrie
 c. Administration – focuses on the ease implementation and cost associated in
administering a program or policy. Administrative operability or administrative
ease are often used as criteria for judging proposed public policies.
-c/o Ma’am Emerlyn
d. Political Viability – asks whether or to what extent a proposed policy will be
acceptable to relevant powerful groups, decision makers, legislators,
administrators, citizens, neighbourhood, unions and others. It includes
whether the proposed alternatives are legal under current law or will the
statutes ills have to amend or enact.
-c/o Ma’am Marianne
e. Improvability – refers to the degree of flexibility in implementing a proposed
policy. Alternatives with a high degree of improvability are those that can be
easily manipulated, allowing further refinement of components and strategies
once it is prepared for implementation.
-c/o Regine

RELATIVE WEIGHING OF CRITERIA:

The selected criterion provides the necessary tools for determining the most
preferred policy alternatives with regards to both outcome and viability of
implementation. Each of the criteria presented may differ with regards to its relative
importance to the results of the process. One criterion or set of criteria may represent a
more critical determinant of the policy’s potential value than another based on some
value judgement. Because of this, it is useful to assign relative weights to each of the
criteria in order to establish the degree of influence that the criteria will be allowed to
exert over the final policy decision. These weights assigned as fractions adding to “1”
across the five criteria are listed below:
0.35(EF) + 0.10(EQ) + 0.10(PV) + 0.15(A) + 0.15(I) = 1

Where:
 EF = Efficiency
EQ = Equity
PV= Political Viability
A = Administration
I = Improvability

Of the five criteria, the one with the highest degree of influence over the policy
outcome is efficiency. The efficiency criteria is viewed as the most critical because it
captures the potential for alternatives to maximize benefits to those affected in the
system. The higher rating assigned to the criteria allows for the prioritization of efficient
approaches in accomplishing policy goals which might be implemented without
constraint by practical limitations like political environment and equity concerns.

The second in terms of influence was the political viability. It has a higher weight
which indicates the importance of political support to the successful adoption and
implementation of the policy. The third in rank is composed of two criteria for assessing
the policy preferences. This tier includes the administrative weight and improvability.
These criteria are considered necessary for successful implementation of such policy.

And the last criteria used was equity. Although achievable, sometimes it has a
negative impact on the policy with regards to monetary concerns and the affected
individuals or groups.

RECOMMENDING ACTIONS:

The following policy alternatives are suggested to meet and resolve the problem
of the increasing number of smokers including minors with connection to health issues
and harmful effects to smokers and non-smokers.
 All policy options must be properly enforced in order to assist the community in
regulating the number of smokers and disseminating accurate information about the
risks of health concerns and minors using tobacco products. The full implementation of
the restriction on selling cigarettes to minors will also demonstrate the government's and
community's responsiveness to social issues.

RECOMMENDATION:

Amendments to the existing ordinance that will ensure that the sale of cigarettes
to minors is properly monitored and prohibited, as well as the imposition of non-
monetary punishment to educate minors on the harmful effects of cigarette smoking and
the benefits of smoke-free community.