DAVAO City Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte is eyeing to create an ordinance regulating the operations of water refilling stations in the city.
Villafuerte clarified that her committee, which is the committee on health, have not yet received any complaints from customers.
“We wanted to regulate the operations of these water refilling stations to assure the quality of water they are using,” the councilor said on Wednesday, July 17, during the 19th Council Media Press Briefing at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
She said she noticed that it is only the Davao City Water District (DCWD) that submits a monthly report to her committee.
While she said she assumed that all water refilling stations are following the specific guidelines to do their business, she said the city wants to strengthen its regulation to assure the safety of the customers.
“Meron namang existing guidelines na binigay si DOH (Department of Health) sa amin, (There is already an existing guidelines coming from the DOH), we want to include it in the ammended health and sanitation [guidelines],” Villafuerte said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drinking unsafe water could cause amoebiasis, diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid fever.
WHO recommends purifying your own drinking water at home as a preventive measure to prevent waterborne diseases.
Meanwhile, SunStar Davao asked various water refilling stations, wherein owners requested not to be named, welcome the move of the city.
However, they said the city should have clear guidelines so that their business would not be affected.