Baguio City buskers may soon need to secure a permit if this ordinance is approved

Buskers in Baguio City may soon need to secure a permit before performing in the streets of Baguio. This is if the proposed ordinance by Councilor Leandro Yangot gets a nod from the City Council and the City Mayor’s Office.

The proposal to regulate busking in Baguio City was first pushed in 2017 and has reached the third and final reading stage, however, this was shelved until last July 18, 2022, when the current council approved the proposal on its first reading.

The proposed ordinance seeks the protection of the buskers from being apprehended for mendicancy or panhandling.

Here are the salient points of the proposed ordinance

• Buskers will have to secure a permit under the Permits and Licensing Division
• The permit fee is P350
• The permit is valid for one year from the date of issue and said permit should be displayed visibly by the busker while performing.
• The permit fee shall be under the discretion of the City Mayor and is subject to change.
• One permit may be issued for group performers with 3 members
• Larger groups shall apply for a special permit


A group of disabled street performers during Sundays at Session Road

• A Street Performance Committee shall be formed to ensure that the city’s buskers follow the prescribed rules.
• The Street Performance Committee shall be composed of the City Mayor as the chairperson, the City administrator as the co-chairperson, the city treasurer, the head of the permits and licensing division, the City Tourism officer, the chairperson of the Sanggunian’s Committee on Tourism, Special Events, Parks and Playgrounds and two representatives from the accredited street performers’ group as members.
• All performances shall be reviewed for appropriate content and shall be subject to approval by the committee prior to the issuance of the street performance permit.
• Street performers shall not be allowed to perform outside of areas designated by the Street performance committee.
• To perform in a private property, the performer must secure a written permission of the owner.
• In public areas where an authorized street fair or public festival is being conducted, the performer must first seek permission from the sponsor of such fair/festival.
• Performers shall in no way block roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, driveways, stairways, curb tuts, handicapped access ramps nor block access to buildings, parks, public conveyances, businesses, crosswalks, and traffic control poles containing pedestrian crosswalk buttons.
• If a performer attracts a crowd sufficient to obstruct the public way, the police shall be allowed to disperse the portion of the crowd that is creating an obstruction.
• The police officer shall not ask the performer to leave the location unless efforts to move the crowd fail to adequately protect public safety and restore order.
• Performers shall not generate noise that exceeds the ambient noise level of 10 dBA or the allowable noise levels. A performer or a group of performers may use sound amplification as long as the resulting sound level is not exceeded.
• No performer or group shall perform less than 50 feet away from another performer/group.
• Performances shall take place at times determined by the committee, not to begin before 8:00 AM nor end after midnight.
• Request for donations shall be allowed as long as the sign requesting for such is the one approved by the committee. Donations may be received using any receptacle such as an open musical instrument case, box, or hat.
• Performers shall be allowed to offer sale recordings of their own work in the form of records, cassettes, videotapes, or compact discs.

Source: Public Information Office Baguio City