Some food firms here operate sans permits

Only 71.85 percent or a total of 5,104 of the 7,104 food establishments in Cebu City operates with sanitary permits from the Department of Health, this according to the 2004 annual report of the Field Health Service Information System.

Of the 45,711 food handlers also, only 83 percent or at least 38,114 of the city's food establishments have secured health certificates, the 2004 DOH FHSIS report stated.

Cebu province has also the same problem. Out of the 9,103 food establishments, a percentage of at least 81.94 or 7,385 have complied with the sanitary permit requirements given by the respective municipalities.

From this, also a total of 10,662 food handlers from the recorded 12,398 have secured health certificates from DOH according to the FHSIS report.

Cebu city health department chief Dr. Fe Cabugao yesterday said most of the violators of the city's sanitary code are eatery owners who also operate video karaoke machines.

Nevertheless, she assured that the personnel of the CHD's sanitary environmental division are conducting constant monitoring on all food establishments in the city.

Those who still fail to comply with the necessary requirements despite the grace period accorded to them are referred to the city legal office for appropriate action.

On the other hand, the city's revenue task force operations officer Christopher Ong is blaming the CHD for its apparent "indecisiveness" by not recommending any closure order against establishments that failed to comply with the necessary requirements.

Ong said that for food establishments without sanitary permits, the city treasurer's office issued tax payment certificates to them but that they are given a 30-day period to comply with all of the requirements. Once this given period lapses, the city's joint inspection team composed of representatives from the CHD's sanitary environmental division, office of the building official, city's planning office, fire department and one representative from the city treasurer's office would then conduct an inspection to check if the food establishment in question has already complied with all of the requirements.

However, Ong said that in most cases where food establishments failed to meet the necessary requirements to secure a sanitary permit, the CHD reportedly doesn't recommend any closure.

The city's revenue task force would then wait for owners of food establishments in question to renew their "permits" because by then the city would impose on them fines for failure to comply with the requirements. Failure to pay business tax, fines and surcharges will then be ground for closure. - Cristina C. Birondo and Jasmin R. Uy