Bill bans toilet fees in malls

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo has filed a bill banning the collection of fees from customers for the use of toilets or restrooms in shopping malls and similar establishments.

He proposed the ban in the wake of reports that some commercial establishments are charging customers small amounts for the use of their toilets.

In filing Bill 5225, Castelo said toilet facilities are required to be part of every mall, shopping center, hotel and similar establishments as “ancillary service.”

“The Building Code requires the provision of toilets as an essential service that every building will need. It is assumed that no fee will be charged, as there had not been any fee charged for the longest time that malls as business establishments operate for profit,” he said.

“In fact, our jurisdiction should ban fees for such facilities, especially so that there were no studies that prove customers’ willingness to pay such fees,” he added.

Castelo, chairman of the House committee on Metro Manila development, pointed out that it could be safely assumed that old as well as new malls or hotels must have complied with the rules at the time they were built and therefore the government could always exercise jurisdiction where apparent violation is committed when toilets are operated for profits.

He said toilets are unlike parking spaces in the sense that all customers need to use restrooms, while not all require parking space.

Castelo’s bill provides for a fine of P200,000 for any mall, shopping center or similar establishment that collects a fee for the use of toilets.