By LITO RULONA Correspondent The Committee on Health, Sanitation, and Health Insurance chaired by City Councilor Maria Lourdes Gaane has finally created the Cagayan de Oro City Smoke Free Task Force which will be headed by City Mayor Oscar Moreno. In an interview, Gaane said they finally created the task force that will implement the provisions of the Implementing Rules and Regulation of the law. She said the task force shall aid in the implementation, enforcement, and monitoring of Executive Order 26 series of 2017, as well as conduct educational awareness campaign, information dissemination programs, and capacity buildings programs which will inform the constituents and train enforcement officers. The Task Force’s vice-chair will be the City Health Officer and co-chaired by the chairman of the city council’s Committee on Health Committee and its members will be representative from the Department of Health, City Legal Officer, Office of the City Building Official, City Engineering Department, City Treasurer, Business Permit and Licensing Division head, Chief of Police of Cagayan de Oro City Police Office, and the President Liga ng Mga Barangay. Among the other members of the Task Force are representatives from the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Roads and Traffic Administration, City Department of Interior and Local Government, Civil Service Commission, Cohara President, Representative of the business sector, and the City Tourism Officer. She said one the basis of the creation is the RA 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 that provides that every local government unit shall exercise power to promotion of the general welfare. She said within their respective territorial jurisdiction, local government units shall ensure and support, among other things, promotion of health and safety, enhance the right of the people to a balanced ecology, and preserve the comfort and convenience and their inhabitants. “Since our country is under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to which the Philippine Government is a party, is determine to give priority to the right to protect public health and to promote measures of tobacco control based on current and relevant scientific, technical and economic consideration, and agreed to implement the measures provided in the treaty,” she said. Under the new task force, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) circular No. 17 series of 2009 prohibits smoking in premises , buildings and grounds of government agencies providing health, education or social welfare and development services such as hospitals, health centers, schools, and universities and colleges, provides specific requirements for designated smoking areas.