By LITO RULONA Correspondent CITY hall would soon implement a new ordinance that would be the basis for a curfew for children in the city. City Social Welfare and Development (CSWD) office head Teodoro Sabuga-a said details of the curfew have yet to be finalized but he revealed that the curfew hours would start at 10 pm. He said the parents or guardians of children caught outdoors during curfew hours would be slapped with fines, and imprisoned for repeated offenses. Sabuga-a said this after the city council approved Ordinance 13195-2017, otherwise known as the Parental Responsibility Code of Cagayan de Oro. Sabuga-a said the ordinance, authored by councilors Enrico Salcedo and Ian Mark Nacaya, would be the basis for the curfew. “Mao ra kini atong gihulat nga kahatagan na gayud og responsibility ang mga ginikanan nga dili nila pasagdan ang ilang mga anak,” Salcedo said. But the new ordinance is not all about curfew hours. Section 3 of Chapter 1 of the Code provides that parental authority and responsibility “shall include the caring for and rearing of children for civic consciousness and efficiency and the development of their moral, mental and physical character and well-being.” Based on the ordinance, such responsibilities are also to be exercised by school administrators and teachers or institutions engaged in child care while the child is under their supervision, instruction or custody. “The authority and responsibility shall apply to all authorized activities whether inside or outside the premises of the school, entity or institution,” the ordinance reads in part. Section 3, Chapter 2 of the ordinance also provides that fathers and mothers “shall jointly exercise parental authority and responsibility,” and “in the case of absence or death of either parent, the parent present shall continue exercising parental authority and responsibility.” For those separated, parental authority and responsibility are to be exercised by the parent designated by the court and “in case of death, absence or unsuitability of the parents, substitute parental authority and responsibility shall be exercised by the surviving grandparent, among others.” Penalties include P500 or a month of imprisonment or both for the first offense; P1,000 or two months of imprisonment or both for the second offense; and a maximum penalty of P3,000 or three months of imprisonment or both for the third offense, respectively. In case of inability to pay the fines, the parents or guardians concerned would be obliged to render community service from eight hours, 16 hours, up to 24 hours.