Baguio move to raise legal drinking age to 21 draws nightlife concerns

BAGUIO CITY — The summer capital is moving closer to raising the minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 21 to curb alcohol-related harm among young people despite concerns from bar operators over the proposed restriction’s impact on the city’s nightlife industry. 

The city council last week approved on second reading the proposed Alcohol Harm Prevention Ordinance (Proposed Ordinance No. 0023-20), which seeks to tighten regulations on the sale and serving of alcoholic beverages, including stricter liquor licensing requirements. 

READ: Baguio contemplates raising drinking age to 21 years

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The proposed minimum drinking age of 21 represents a compromise from the 23-year-old threshold strongly advocated by members of the medical community during early deliberations.  

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Medical studies and testimonies provided by World Health Organization doctors and by Baguio’s chief epidemiologist Dr. Donabel Tubera Panes state that a higher drinking age provides a necessary “legal cover” so youths would not be indoctrinated at an early age to alcohol addiction and to a lifestyle that would bring them chronic diseases associated with alcohol consumption when they turn 65.

Neuroscience studies have concluded that brain sections attributed to risky behavior are still developing even at the age of 25,  said Dr. Florante Trinidad, national professional officer of the WHO country office in the Philippines. 

The proposed law, however, drew questions about teenage and 20-year-old employees working in the service industry. 

READ: WHO backs Baguio initiative to raise drinking age to 23

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“Can a guest relations officer or entertainer of a bar drink liquor with customers if they are within the legal working age of 18?” asked Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, a veteran lawyer and gender rights advocate, during council deliberations on October 19.

The same question was raised earlier by bar and nightclub operators at an October 16 public consultation organized by the Council’s committee on laws. “We earn from ladies’ drinks ordered for our entertainers by customers,” a bar owner had said. 

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“They are allowed to work and when they are with a customer they can just get a ‘mocktail (non alcoholic cocktail). It will be the responsibility of the bar owner to ensure that their employees who are 18 and 20 will not get served alcohol,” said lawyer and Councilor Paolo Salvosa, chair of the committee on laws, who reviewed amendments being introduced to a 1990 Baguio liquor ordinance. 

“The ladies’ drink does not have to contain alcohol, it just has to be priced high. That’s where they get their revenue. So (bar owners) will be obligated (to make sure no alcohol is served to their employees) if the GRO is below 21,” he said at the council session. 

During the Oct. 16 public consultation, Salvosa addressed pushback to a new drinking age: “We have a ruling by the Supreme Court before that local governments can adopt a higher standard. What national laws prescribe are minimum standards. But nothing prevents a local government from adopting higher standards, for as long as there is basis and our basis are scientific studies, even from the World Health Organization, that say early drinking is harmful to children, adolescents and young adults because the full maturity of the brain is at age 25.” 

Changes to the 1990 liquor code were first discussed by the City Council at the height of the coronavirus pandemic when City Hall began a strict crackdown on drinking places that were near parks, schools and government buildings.

The health-driven liquor measure establishes “no alcohol” zones around campuses, schools and parks. 

Because of Baguio’s status as a popular tourism spot, all establishments that serve liquor would need a separate liquor license apart from their operating business license. Their employees – including 18-year-olds – must secure an “alcohol server work permit” that would be renewable after 10 years. 

Salvosa said 18, 19 and 20 year olds who attend events accompanied by parents or adult guardians would still be barred from consuming alcohol. “We have to draw the line,” he said. 

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Delivery services tasked to bring alcohol to residences must establish that their customer is 21, he said, stressing that no alcohol may be delivered to campuses and school dormitories. /jpv