Boarding houses subjected to inspections
Some 2,000 boarding houses in Iloilo City will be subjected to inspection by the Boarding House Commission (BHC) in preparation for the opening of classes next month.
BHC chief Rose Poral said they have already started the initial inspections on some boarding houses but would intensify inspections as soon as classes start.
Poral said they could not yet fully inspect boarding houses especially those located in the university belt as there are owners who have yet to secure a business permit from the city government.
She said some of the applications for permit to operate boarding houses are still on process. She appealed to the applicants to pay their fees directly to the City Treasurer's Office and demand a receipt.
Poral said some of the boarding house owners are also fixing or still undergoing repair of their structures in preparation for the opening of classes. She added that they are monitoring all the boarding houses in the city particularly those which requires attention of the commission for the safety and comfort of the occupants.
Representatives from City Engineers Office, City Health Office, Bureau of Fire and Protection and Iloilo City Police Office join the commission whenever they conduct inspections of the different boarding houses in the city.
Poral explained that they could exactly see the situation of the boarders particularly the students if they are already occupying the room. The number of occupants varies depending on the room's dimension. However, the ratio between comfort rooms and boarders should be 10:1 or one comfort room for every 10 occupants.
Poral said students should not be allowed to cook their meals inside their rented room. Based on their previous inspections, they found out that there are students who cook food inside their rooms which is dangerous as it might cause fire.
She also said the use of electrical outlets in every room should be monitored. Poral noted that lots of "octopus connections" are usually set up in boarding houses.
She added, every boarding house owner must have a separate key so that they could check the rented room whenever their boarders are out as a precautionary measure.
Poral also appealed to all the boarding house owners that they should act as second parents to the students.
She said their boarding houses are considered second home of the students so they should not only be contented in receiving payment from their boarders.
Poral added owners should also establish rules and regulations inside the house. If possible, she said, they should set a curfew for the renters and meet once a week or once a month to check on their boarders' situation.