ALL restaurants and food outlets in Mandaue City will soon be required to provide accessible clean drinking water for their customers for free.

This, after the Mandaue City Council enacted Ordinance 15-2019-1453 last Oct. 22, 2019.

The ordinance, sponsored by City Councilor Carmelino “Jun” del Mar, empowers the City Health Office to conduct water sampling and bacteriology tests on the water supply of the city’s restaurants and food outlets once a month to check if the water is potable or not.

The CHO will also check if the water supplied by these establishments can be safely taken without risk of developing waterborne diseases or general health problems.

The ordinance states that any establishment that fails the CHO’s water sampling and bacteriology tests will be subjected to a fine of P3,000 and the suspension of their business permit.

Closure of the establishment could also be implemented until the offender complies with certain conditions, the ordinance states.

But before the establishment is penalized, the CHO must submit its findings to the City Legal Office.

The ordinance states that restaurants and food outlets in the city are required to regularly maintain their water dispensers, water vending machines and water storage containers.

They are also required to post a signage that says “Free Service Water” in a conspicuous place inside the premises of the establishment.

Del Mar told SunStar Cebu that they are currently drafting the implementing rules and regulations of the ordinance before they can implement it in full.

Del Mar said he initially proposed the ordinance when, as aside from his personal experience, he heard complaints from some of his constituents about the lack of service water in some restaurants.

“I’ve received several complaints. As for me, I have gone and eaten in many restaurants in the city where you don’t get drinking water if you don’t have extrea money to pay for it,” del Mar said in Cebuano. (KFD)