Most city boarding houses violate safety requirements
Most boarding houses in Iloilo City do not have fire exits, an inspection conducted by the Boarding House Commission revealed.
Since the opening of classes, the BHC has already inspected 156 boarding houses, including dormitories and apartments, operating in the City Proper and districts of Jaro, Mandurriao, Molo, La Paz, and Arevalo.
BHC Chairman Marita Geremias said that among the inspected boarding houses, 117 don’t have business permits and fire exits.
Those without fire exits also don’t have fire extinguishers, she said.
A registered boarding house is required to have at least one fire exit and one extinguisher before the BHC will grant its owner a permit to operate.
However, in cases of illegal boarding houses, it could not be determined whether these have fire exits and extinguishers.
As a basic rule, Geremias said a fire exit should be located at the back part of the boarding house while a fire extinguisher should be visible and reachable for everyone.
Geremias said that definitely there should be “no cooking” inside the room to prevent fire incident.
Aside from lack of fire exit, common problems in boarding houses include insufficient water supply, poor ventilation, and improper waste disposal.
Geremias said their regular inspection every morning of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will continue until all boarding houses in Iloilo City have secured permits.
Both registered and unregistered boarding houses are subject of inspections.
At present, 280 registered boarding houses in the city have renewed their permits to operate.
Geremias said they will prioritize the inspection of those that failed to renew their permits and those that are reportedly operating illegally.
“Erring owners will be given warnings,” Geremias said, adding that illegal boarding houses will be closed while permits of those registered will be suspended if they have violations.
The BHC also regulates houses for rent, lodging houses, rooms for rent, dormitories, and apartments as well as real state lessors. It also requires owners to put the signage “wanted:boarders” outside their establishments.
