CEBU City is set to fully implement its long-delayed Septage Management Program following the endorsement of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of City Ordinance No. 2398 to the City Council on Oct. 28, 2025.
The Cebu City Septage Management Board (CCSMB) endorsed the IRR to the Committee on Environment for evaluation of its compliance with national laws, fiscal management, and enforcement measures. It was also sent to the City Legal Office for review. The IRR will take effect 15 days after publication in a local newspaper.
The rules cover all buildings and structures — residential, commercial, public, and private — across the city. Exemptions apply only to establishments with verified and certified on-site wastewater treatment facilities meeting standards set by the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Region 7 and Department of Health.
The program mandates regular septic tank desludging every three years, while smaller households with fewer than 10 members must desludge every five years, or when the tank is half-full. All septic tanks must be watertight, multi-chambered, and accessible for desludging.
Discharging untreated wastewater into canals or drainage systems is strictly prohibited. Existing septic tanks must comply within three years from the IRR’s effectivity.
New septic tank constructions require a septic permit, with fees collected by the City Treasurer’s Office — P24 for the first five cubic meters, plus P7 per additional cubic meter.
Structures with non-compliant or inaccessible tanks must either remodel, connect to a sewer line, or build a shared septic tank. Commercial and institutional establishments are required to install pre-treatment systems to prevent damage from oil, grease, or industrial waste. Food businesses must maintain grease traps in kitchen areas.
The cost of desludging will be borne by property owners, while accredited haulers must pay P250 per cubic meter of septic waste to the treatment facility. Desludging permits cost P150, and annual accreditation for haulers and plant operators costs P5,000 plus P500 per truck.
Violations such as failure to comply with desludging schedules, operating non-compliant tanks, or dumping untreated waste carry fines ranging from P1,000 to P5,000 and/or six months imprisonment.
The City Government emphasized that the program aims to protect public health, waterways, and coastal ecosystems by ensuring proper waste treatment and disposal. / EHP