90 erring refilling stations get notices from Bacolod gov’t

WHILE waiting for the result of the water analysis, the City Legal Office (CLO) served notices to more than 90 water refilling stations in Bacolod asking them to voluntarily stop their operations.

City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr., said yesterday they started delivering the notices on Monday, October 3.

City Health Office records showed that as of October 4, this year the sanitary inspectors visited a total of 204 water refilling stations, of which, 95 were discovered to have been operating without sanitary and business permits.

“We can issue the closure of their business, but we gave them a consideration. So, for now, they should voluntarily stop their operation and we will continue the distribution of the notices this week,” Ting said.

He said the water refilling station owners should secure sanitary and business permits to ensure the safety of their customers and to legitimize their operations.

Earlier this week, the Sangguniang Panlungsod approved a resolution urging the CHO through the office of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to inspect and test the potability of all water refilling stations in the jurisdiction of Bacolod City.

Authored by Councilor Em Ang, the resolution also urged the CHO to issue closure [order] of those [stations] that are in violation of Presidential Decree No. 856 or the Sanitation Code of the Philippines.

A nurse by profession, Ang led a public hearing on October 4, regarding her proposed ordinance establishing the Bacolod drinking water quality and safety monitoring committee.

She said the CHO submitted a report that they have confirmed the presence of cholera bacteria through stool culture from Barangays Mansilingan, Tangub and Sum-ag.

Ang added that the CHO was tasked to regularly test water samples of level one and two water sources, while Baciwa-primewater was also tasked for the level three water sources testing and its result will be submitted to the CHO.

Meanwhile, Bacolod City Council has approved a resolution requesting the City Health Office (CHO) through Mayor Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez to strictly follow the DOH national policy on Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (Wash) in emergencies and disasters.

Councilor Claudio Puentevella, who authored the resolution, said DOH Administrative Order No. 2020 - 0037, provides the national policy on Wash in emergencies and disasters and potential outbreaks of vector and water-borne diseases such as cholera, and typhoid fever, compounded by increased vulnerabilities from lack of adequate food and shelter, displacement; and overcrowding evacuation centers, create new threats during disaster situations.

He said the DOH identifies that the development of a national policy and technical guidelines on Wash in Emergencies (WIE) is of utmost importance, in recognition of the Philippines’ disproportionate vulnerability to emergencies and disasters.

Puentevella also said that the country currently ranks third among the countries most at risk from both natural hazards and human induced disasters (World Risk Index, 2018).

The councilor, who is the chairperson of the City Council committee on health, noted that Section 15 of Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

Wash is composed of three disciplines—water Access, Sanitation, and Hygiene, it can virtually eliminate waterborne diseases.

The three components of WASH are grouped together because of their interdependence, one cannot be fully realized without the other.

He said the CHO is the lead agency that is responsible for the health awareness and safety of our constituents during health emergencies and disasters.*