ILOILO City – When in Roxas City, make sure you have your upper body clothing on.
Going topless or bare-chested in public there is now a crime for both men and women punishable with a fine or even imprisonment.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Roxas City recently passed an ordinance for this. City councilors said they wanted to promote “decency, propriety and orderliness”.
People of all ages must observe proper decorum wherever they may be, according to ordinance author Councilor Jericho Angel Celino.
But there are exemptions to this “no topless” policy:
* persons inside private premises
* activities or events with special permit issued by the city government/implement agencies;
* in cases of medical emergencies
* indigenous peoples wearing ethnic clothes
* when in public swimming pools, beaches and rivers
* persons engaged in sports activities
What are the penalties for going topless in Roxas City?
* first offense – a warning
* second offense – a fine of P500
* third offense – a fine of P500 plus community service
What happens if a fourth or many more offenses are committed by an individual? Here, the ordinance is vague. It stated that the violator must pay a fine (although no amount was specified) or suffer imprisonment (it did not say for how long), or suffer both fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.
The ordinance tasked the Roxas City Traffic Management Unit, the Roxas City police, and barangay officials to enforce the ordinance.
Exposed upper torsos (with nipples and areolae showing) were and are normal in many indigenous societies. However, modern societies have developed social norms on modesty requiring covering up torsos in public.
Some conservative societies consider people – especially women – who expose their nipples and areolae as immodest and acting contrary to social norms, and cite them for public lewdness, indecent exposure, public indecency or disorderly conduct./PN
