BAGUIO CITY – The conduct of street performances in the city will soon be regulated once the proposed ordinance regulating the conduct of ‘busking’ will be enacted by the local legislative body.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr. defined ‘ busking’ as the act of performing in public places for gratuities and that the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities as food, drinks or gifts may be given to the performers.
The ordinance mandated the creation of a Street Performance Committee which will be composed of the City Mayor as chairperson and co-chaired by the City Administrator with the City Treasurer, City Permits and Licensing Officer, City Tourism Operations Officer, Chairperson of the City Council Committee on Tourism, Special Events, Parks and Playgrounds and 2 representatives from the accredited musician’s, street performer’s groups in the city as members.
Under the proposed ordinance, no street performer or ‘busker’ shall perform in a public area without a permit issued to them by the local government.
The ordinance added that a ‘busking’ permit shall be issued by the City Permits and Licensing Division to each applicant in exchange for a completed application and a regulatory fee of P350 which will be at the discretion of the City Mayor and subject to change depending on the prevailing circumstance.
A completed application for a permit and the permit itself shall contain the applicant’s name, residence or address and telephone number and shall be signed by the applicant and that it shall only be valid from the date on which it was issued for a period of one year from the said date and that it is non-transferable.
The ordinance stated that in no event shall any group of performers of three or less identified as such in their application and noted on their permits be charged more than the P350 regulatory fee.
The ordinance stipulated that a performer shall clearly display his or her permit while performing, and shall inspection of their permits by authorized personnel of the City Permits and Licensing Division, City Public Order and Safety Division or any police officer or personnel staff of the Street Performance Committee.
Yangot added specific public areas may be excluded from performances in accordance with constitutional standards by decision of the Street Performance Committee after a public hearing notice of which shall be advertised no less than 10 calendar days prior to the scheduled hearing, by decision of the chief of police in the case of an emergency and by decision of the City Environment and Parks Management Officer (CEPMO) in the case of emergency in relation to parks and playgrounds around the city.
The City Mayor may suspend a permit for no more than 30 days if a performer or licensee is found to have knowingly provided false information in the application or a performer has received 3 non-criminal dispositions within a calendar year.
The City mayor may revoke a permit for the remainder of the year if a performer has received 5 summons during the same year and a performer may not receive a permit unless all fees of the previous year had been paid. By Dexter A. See