Councilor Ely Estante has called out some food establishments in Iloilo City that do not provide free potable service water to their customers.
The failure to serve free clean water is “blatant violation” of Regulation Ordinance 2018-051 or the Free Potable Service Water Ordinance of Iloilo City, according to the local lawmaker.
“As principal author of this ordinance, I am outraged that, after five year since this ordinance was enacted, there are food establishments in the city that still do not provide free potable service water to their customers,” Estante said in a privilege speech during their regular session.
The ordinance was passed in March 2018 in recognition of the right of our citizens to have free access to safe, clean, and potable drinking water.
According to Estante, he personally experienced eating in a restaurant where he was made to pay for bottled drinking water.
“There are no exemptions. It is a sort of a package deal,once you ordered food they should provide free potable drinking water at no cost,” he said.
Estante also noted that there is virtually no restaurant that has complied with Section 4.2 of the ordinance requiring that “a signage saying ‘Free Service Water’ be posted on a conspicuous place inside the premises of the establishment.”
The councilor passed a resolution mandating the City Health Office and the City Legal Office, through the Office of the City Mayor, to strictly enforce the ordinance.IMT
