THE Cebu City Health Department (CCHD) will now provide more regulated, transparent, accessible and government-run water testing services, aimed at easing the financial burden on small business owners.
The City Council, on Nov. 11, 2025, passed on third and final reading the proposed ordinance creating a City-operated water testing laboratory, whose results will be required for businesses to secure sanitary permits.
Councilor Alvin Arcilla, the proponent of the approved ordinance, cited years of complaints from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) regarding expensive water testing fees and sometimes unregulated third-party laboratories.
Current water tests
Nearly 90 percent of local businesses rely on Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) water, yet many still pay up to P7,000 for mandatory water tests, Arcilla reported on Aug. 7.
The City-run laboratory will test the microbiological, physical, chemical and radiological quality of water before business owners can be granted sanitary permits. The permit is a requirement to renew or apply for a business permit.
The measure has also exempted MSMEs whose source of water supply is MCWD, without a secondary or alternative source, from being required to secure Physical and Chemical Water Testing.
However, these establishments are still required to comply with microbiological water testing.
Mandatory testing
The ordinance also strictly requires establishments such as drinking-water refilling stations, water vending machines, mobile water tank suppliers and bulk water suppliers and service providers to undergo initial and periodic examination.
The CCHD will only accept water test results from third-party laboratories accredited by the City Government.
To apply for a sanitary permit, the CCHD conducts two types of water testing: Biological and Physicochemical testing, while the third mandatory test is referred to an accredited third-party laboratory.
Concerns on costs
The CCHD requires local businesses to avail themselves of a third-party water tester for a fee. The fees reportedly range from P3,000 to P7,000 per testing per establishment. But CCHD head Dr. Daisy Villa explained during the executive session on Aug. 26 that they do not endorse or recommend a specific private laboratory.
She also explained that the CCHD does not have the facilities to conduct all required tests, as the equipment and materials needed are costly.
There are at least 20 Department of Health-accredited water testing facilities in Cebu City, according to Villa.
These water tests prevent water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, amoebiasis and even poisoning. They require testing every six months for food establishments and annual testing for non-food establishments.
Refilling stations and bulk water suppliers are mandated to follow monthly bacteriological and annual physicochemical testing. / EHP