Following the alarming rise in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus disease or COVID-19 in the country, Senator Manny Pacquiao has filed a bill seeking to prohibit spitting and expelling nasal mucous in public places.
The Senate Bill No. 1406, also known as the “Anti-Spitting Act of 2020,” penalizes those who shall be caught spitting saliva or expelling nasal mucous in any place to which the public has access.
“This unsanitary and irresponsible act has to stop,” Pacquiao said in his explanatory note on the measure.
“Considering that the respiratory illness has spread at a rapid pace, there has to be a concrete preventive measure in place,” he added.
Under the proposed measure, anyone caught spitting or expelling nasal mucous would be slapped with a fine of PHP 5,000 for the first offense and PHP10,000 for the second offense.
A Php50,000 penalty will be imposed for the third offense along with mandatory attendance in a health seminar to be conducted by the Department of Health.
Pacquiao believes that his fellow solons in the Senate would support and swiftly pass the bill into law to prevent further transmission of COVID-19 and other deadly infectious diseases.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 spreads from person-to-person, most likely through droplets of saliva or mucous carried in the air for up to six feet or so when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
As of this posting, there are 52 cases of coronavirus in the Philippines with five fatalities.
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