The Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO) here will intensify its campaign against the use of unregistered drones and those being flown in prohibited airspaces in the city, an official said Monday.
This developed after the City Council passed last November 26 the amended Drone Regulation Ordinance, which allowed the issuance of citation tickets to those that use unregistered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remote piloted aerial vehicles (RPAVs), and remotely piloted aerial systems (RPAS) within the city’s airspace.
“We are not prohibiting them, we are just regulating them. If drones will not be regulated, they might be flown in no-fly zones and could hit airplanes,” Angel Sumagaysay, PSSO head, told reporters Monday morning in Binisaya.
Sumagaysay said there is a need to regulate drones to avoid causing accidents such as collision with aircrafts, or drones falling down that could hit and injured somebody.
He said that because the amended ordinance has been properly disseminated, they are expecting the drone owners to become compliant.
Councilor Luna Maria Acosta, chair of the Committee on Peace and Public Safety, said the amended ordinance allows the PSSO to issue citation tickets to unregulated drone users.
Originally approved on February 11, 2021, the ordinance only mentioned that violators will pay P3,000 for the first offense and P5,000 for the second offense, but there is no mention of citation tickets.
With the amendment, it will now mandate PSSO officers and other appropriate enforcers to give citation tickets to violators, stating their name, address where the violation is committed, date and time, the specific violation committed, and a “no-contest provision.”
A no-contest provision assures a first-time violator to exempt him or her from criminal liability if fines are paid within seven days after the violation is committed.
For people who fly non-registered drones or those with questionable ownership, they will still pay P3,000 for the first offense and P5,000 for the second offense, and confiscation of the drone.
Those who use drones in no-fly zones or in prohibited airspaces will be fined P5,000 and their drones confiscated immediately. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
