Tuesday, October 16, 2007 Kites, doves soon to be banned By Grace L. Plata
WITHIN a few months or so, doves and kites will be going the way of aerial spraying, firecrackers, and smoking in Davao City as the City Council is set to approve for third and final reading the proposal to amend the Davao International Airport Safety Ordinance of 1940.
The major amendment will be the banning of kite flying and dove-raising within the 10-mile radius of the airport.
Upon approval, the amendment proposed by City Councilor Peter T. Laviña will mean that kite-flying and dove-raising will only be allowed from barangay Dumoy to Toril District since the 10-mile radius extends up to Lasang in the north and Bago in the south.
Meaning, there will be no more kite-flying in heavily populated areas downtown, in Agdao and the north, and even the Tionko grounds (better known as Agro) beside the Bolton Bridge where kite-flying is a hit.
Laviña, in an earlier interview, said the move was in response to a letter sent by airport management to the office of the city mayor requesting an amendment to the existing law to specify the 10-mile delineation.
According to Laviña, airport management became concerned after the UH-1 Huey helicopter crash in Mactan, Cebu was attributed to a kite string getting entangled in the rotor.
Airlines operating in the city have also complained that they have experienced engine troubles from birds getting sucked in by jet engines.
"They just want to avoid accidents. That is why they are aiming for this amendment on the city's airport security ordinance which was crafted in the 1940's," Laviña said.
The 10-mile distance is based on the standards set by the International Air Transport Association.
