LU REGULATES VIDEOKE, LOUD DEVICES DURING ONLINE CLASSES
By: Rhea Matilde A. Ballesteros, GPC – SP | Photo By: Jiroh Joy D. Marbella GPC-SP | Date: December 7, 2020
The 22nd Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of La Union approves on third and final reading the Draft Ordinance No. 267-2020, entitled “Regulating the Use of Karaokes, Videokes and Other Sound-Producing Devices in Residential Areas which tend to Disturb through its Noise Pollution, the Community Especially the Learners and Work From Home Employees and Providing Penalties Thereof” during its 76th Regular Session on December 7, 2020 held at the SP Session Hall, Provincial Capitol, City of San Fernando, La Union.
In response to the call of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urging local government units (LGUs) to enact ordinances prohibiting videoke and other loud noises that would distract students from online classes, the 22nd Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of La Union passed on third and final reading the Draft Ordinance No. 267-2020, entitled “Regulating the Use of Karaokes, Videokes and Other Sound-Producing Devices in Residential Areas which tend to Disturb through its Noise Pollution, the Community Especially the Learners and Work From Home Employees and Providing Penalties Thereof” during its 76th Regular Session on December 7, 2020.
Due to the pandemic, modular and blended learning strategies which is done at home and alternative work from home arrangements were adopted to avoid the spread of the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (CoVid-19). In order to make communities conducive to distance learning and work-from-home arrangements, this policy was proposed by Hon. Nancy Corazon M. Bacurnay.
Before its approval, the said ordinance was subjected to three Committee Hearings, one Committee Meeting and a virtual Public Hearing on November 9, 2020 where 71 representatives from offices of various organizations and national agencies, LGUs, and academe attended. Likewise, a total of 96 comments from netizens over the official Provincial Government of La Union Facebook page were considered in the review of the ordinance.
The said policy regulates the use of videoke/karaoke machines or intentional causing of any sound-producing devices during wakes or “last-night-services” and other family occasions such as wedding and the likes and use of music of funeral bands during interment services procession where the sound level tend to intentionally irritate or disturb residential homes, boarding houses or in places where there are students who are having their modular, blended learning online classes and parents and/or employees who are on an alternative working arrangement or work from home during Sundays to Fridays in the Province of La Union from seven o’clock in the morning onwards.
However, on-going road, carpentry or infrastructure projects, game fowl farms, crushing plants near residential areas, town/city and church sirens, sirens of fire trucks, ambulance and other rescue vehicles, sounds from ships or sea transports, heavy equipment passing by the road and Holidays (declared by National and Local Governments) are exempted from this ordinance.
Penalties on the violation of this ordinance are set to P1,000.00 for the first infraction; P1,500.00 for the second infraction; and for the third and succeeding infractions, P5,000.00 or imprisonment of not more than one year or both in the discretion of the court.
The Local Chief Executives of the component Local Government Units of La Union, through their respective Punong Barangays, Barangay Tanods, Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) or local personnel from the Philippine National Police, are authorized to enforce including patrolling of neighborhoods, residential areas to ensure compliance of the provisions of this ordinance.
