BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance known as the Sanitation Code of the Baguio City.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Elaine D. Sembrano stated that pursuant to the declaration of policies in the Constitution wherein the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them, the capabilities of local government nits shall be enhanced to participate actively in the implementation of national programs and projects and within their respective jurisdictions locally, government units shall ensure and support, among other things, the promotion of health and safety, and the preservation of comfort and convenience of their constituents.
The ordinance shall cover the city and govern the enforcement and implementation of all national laws, rules and regulations pertaining to sanitation, but which are applicable for implementation and enforcement in the city.
The ordinance added that standards for drinking water and their bacteriological and chemical examinations, together with the evaluation of results, shall conform to the criteria set by the National Drinking Water Standards and the approval of the Secretary or that of his duly authorized representative is required in the determination of the sites of water sources before the construction of facilities, delivery of water to consumers, operation of a water system, plans and specifications of water systems of subdivision projects prior to the construction of housing units and certification of portability f drinking water.
The ordinance also contains pertinent provisions governing the operation of food establishments, structural requirements of food establishments, food handling, vermin control, toilet and washing facilities, disposal of refuse, required equipment and utensils, bacterial treatment, handling of washed utensils, storage of washed utensils, dry storage of non-perishable foods, refrigerated storage of perishable foods, food serving operations, evaluation of food establishments, special provisions related to sanitation, responsibility of the City Health Services Office, applicable provisions of Presidential Decree 856.
Further, it also contains provisions relative to the operation of non-food establishments, health certification and structural requirements aside from similar provisions on public markets, mini-markets, flea markets, and abattoirs.
Public hygiene, public swimming and bathing spaces, rest areas, bus terminals, bus stops service stations, camps and picnic grounds, dancing schools, dance halls, physical fitness and sports gymnasiums, night spots, night clubs, karaoke bars and beer houses, tonsorial and beauty establishments, massage clinics, physical therapy clinics and sauna bath establishments, hotels, motels and apartments, lodging, boarding, or tenement houses and condominiums, vermin control and fumigation, impounding of stray animals, cruelty to animals, keeping of animals in homes or as part of a business, sewage collection and disposal, excreta disposal and drainage, refuse disposal, nuisances and offensive trades and occupation, pollution of the environment, disposal of dead persons among others will also be regulated and governed by the operation of the code once enacted by the local legislative body.
By Dexter A. See
