Police officers in the Philippines have arrested more than 291,000 individuals in three months for violating local laws in Metro Manila, according to an ABS-CBN News story citing government figures.
Most of the violations had to do with smoking tobacco in places where smoking is banned.
According to the National Capital Region Police Office, the majority of those arrested between June 13 and September 24 broke local laws in Metro Manila’s largest conurbation, Quezon City, where police arrested 156,017 people.
More than 66,500 people were arrested in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Police District, and more than 29,200 were arrested in Manila City.
The intensified operations against people violating city ordinances began in June when President Rodrigo Duterte issued a directive and called loiterers “potential trouble for the public”.
The police figures show that most of those arrested, 97,685, violated the smoking ban, while 22,407 were arrested for being ‘half-naked in public’.
About 21,700 people were arrested for violating the curfew on minors, 15,140 were arrested for drinking in public places, and 134,576 were arrested in connection with violations of other ordinances.
Of the people arrested, 205,004 or 70 percent were warned, 52,823 were fined, while 33,680 were charged.
At least 32 ordinance violators were still in police custody when the story was published yesterday.
Crackdown on smoking
