The Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed a resolution urging the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and all government offices in the province to ban “Pokemon Go” in the premises under their control.

SP Member Elpidio Jala, who chairs the Committee on Education, passed a resolution containing the call and was approved during the SP regular session on August 26.

This is in response to the privilege speech delivered by SP Member Tomas Abapo Jr., who chairs the Committee on Rules Labor and Employment, in the previous regular session.

Abapo raised the alarm on the road accidents and its lure to snatchers that those who play Pokemon Go are prone to.

The Civil Service Commission last Thursday issued a warning to all government workers nationwide against playing Pokemon Go during office hours.

The warning came with a reminder that government employees are paid by public money and should put it to good use.

Aside from Pokemon Go, the prohibition covers “all other of game applications”.

“Government official time is paid for by the public and it should be devoted only to the provision of continuous and quality public service,” according to the CSC statement.

In the “popular real-time virtual reality game Pokemon Go” landmarks located in the GPS as either PokeStops or PokeGyms, including government offices.

“The CSC may draft a letter to the game developer to suggest the removal of Pokemons, PokeStops and PokeGyms from government offices,” the CSC stated in the public advisory.

Playing game apps on mobile phones “while at work could be considered as loafing” which akin to being not around in the office or equivalent to being “somewhere else”, the CSC warned.

“Under the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, loafing is a less serious offense similar to dishonesty, oppression, disgraceful and immoral conduct, absenteeism and tardiness. Under the rules, such acts are punishable by six months to a year of suspension on the first offense and dismissal from the service on second offense,” the national media reported.

It is akin to “stealing official the time for work”, and may be allowed only “lunch break, after office hours or at home”, according to the CSC.

Bala said loafing.

Abapo had earlier cited an incident recorded earlier this month in Bacolod City where three minors had their cellphones snatched while they were playing Pokemon Go on the road.

In Pokemon Go, the player has to go to public places where virtual Pokemons are tracked, exposing them to traffic accidents and to snatchers.

Locations of Pokemons are synchronized with the locations of players and landmarks tracked in the Global Positioning System (GPS).

When the player runs out of Pokemon balls that are used to catch sighted Pokemons, he has to either purchase Pokemon balls online or go to Pokemon Stops to gather Pokemon balls and eggs.

This process requires the player to go to public places or landmarks in GPS identified as PokeStops.

Bigger landmarks are also identified as Pokemon Go gyms where players engage in combat with other players through their hoard of Pokemons.

These require players to move from one place to another to the extent of crossing streets with eyes on their cellphones, making them prone to accidents, aside from inviting snatchers.