As reported, an online database of ordinances accessible through a mobile application was launched by the Quezon City (QC) local government, in the Philippines.
Batas QC is the first city-based database that aims to raise awareness about the city’s rules.
Moreover, it targets to counter ordinance violations by educating residents about the regulations and corresponding penalties.
The app provides users with a summary of QC ordinances.
Users can type the ordinance they are looking for through the app’s search bar, which will bring up its summary and the corresponding penalties for its violations.
Links to the full text of ordinances on the QC Council website are also provided.
The app, likewise, categorises ordinances according to their nature, which can be refined through filters.
Not only are the users given access to a list of ordinances, they are also provided with announcements like schedule of events, meetings, and infographics, among others.
The purpose of the app is to enlighten the citizens and advise the enforcers when they implement the law.
There is no need to read the whole text of the ordinance for they are summarised in layman’s term in order for the ordinary people to understand it.
Furthermore, the law enforcers need not search far for the rules as they can present and view the ordinances immediately.
By merely typing and searching, one can see the description and its corresponding penalties. Plus, it can be used offline.
According to the National Capital Region Police Office, the Quezon City Police District had the highest number of violators at 262,847 or 58.4% of the total arrests for ordinance penalties in Metro Manila from 13 June 2018 to 02 November of this year.
According to this report, the high number of apprehensions prompted the local government to pass a legislation mandating law enforcers to issue ordinance violation receipts (OVR) instead of putting violators in jail.
With an OVR, the violator can pay a fine within five days at the barangay hall or Quezon City Hall for offenses such as drinking, roaming the streets half-naked and smoking in public places.
Aside from awareness, the app also promotes good governance as this provides transparency on the ordinances and the penalties.
This educates citizens and helps hold the agencies accountable for their actions.
During its launch, the Quezon City government distributed phones and tablets with the Batas QC app to the city’s Department of Public Order and Safety, Environment Protection and Waste Management Department, barangay councils, and the Sangguniang Kabataan, among others.
The app will be updated weekly to add new ordinances passed in the weekly council meetings.