Here’s the thing: Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago has already filed a similar bill (Senate Bill 1876) earlier this month.
Nevertheless, that didn’t stop Sen. Tito Sotto from also filing a bill (Senate Bill 2081) that seeks to impose a total ban on firecrackers during the New Year revelry.
“The Department of Health recorded a total of 914 firework-related injuries during the last New Year revelry. Sotto also cited the Philippine National Police’s report of 28 injuries caused by stray bullets,” reports the Associated Press on Philstar.com.
Under Sotto’s measure, “a violator would be fined ranging from PHP10,000 up to PHP50,000 and can be given up to six months imprisonment. Meanwhile, Santiago’s measure proposes “a fine of PHP50,000 fine and imprisonment of up to one year for violators of the total firecracker ban.”
Disclaimer: We don’t now for sure if this kind of “duplication” happens all the time. (Or if it’s considered as “normal.”) If it does, maybe it’s time for our lawmakers to develop a system that prevents duplication. Maybe it would also help speed up the passing of laws that really matter.
Screengrab from an ANC video
