Academic and former House Rep.
Walden Bello recently commented on President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order
banning smoking in public places nationwide calling it a step towards
dictatorship, Social media activist Sass Sasot challenged him to go to the
Supreme Court.
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Composite Photos from Facebook, Twitter |
Bello, a member of the Communist
Party of the Philippines, through his Facebook account called the motion “one more
step towards dictatorship”, adding that civil society groups hailing the ban
will end up regretting it.
Bello said that while the ends is
good, the means is wrong. He added that he too was a former smoker, and while he favors tough restrictions on
smoking, “this is not something that one imposes via executive order”, rather
the Congress legislates it.
He said that if Duterte gets away
with this, more and more areas of public life will be open to being covered by
EO’s.
Sasot in response, challenged
Bello to head to the Supreme Court to air his concerns.
“If you think that the Executive Order to ban smoking in public places is
an abuse of executive power, I challenge you to file a case at the Supreme
Court questioning its constitutionality. This is your chance, the historical
defining moment of your life, to stop dictatorship on its tracks,” she said
through her Facebook page, For the Motherland.
She however, also challenged Bello to look into the following laws.
First, she mentioned RA 8749 Philippine Clean Air Act prohibits smoking
inside enclosed public places including public vehicles, and then RA 9211 - Tobacco Regulation Act
of 2003 - prohibits smoking in certain public places.
On Bello’s statement that people will end up regretting supporting the
action, Sasot said:
“Why would people regret a measure to save their lungs?”
SOURCE: For the Motherland by Sass Sasot
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After Bello comment on Smoking ban EO, Sasot challenges him to go to SC
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23 May
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