SHOPPERS or mall goers with infants that experience a sudden diaper-change emergency may soon have a designated area for this purpose.
Cebu City Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr. proposed an ordinance to require public and private establishments in the city to designate baby diaper-changing facilities in their restrooms.
Alcover said these establishments could include theaters and movie houses; sports arenas, auditoriums, cultural complexes, and exhibition halls; gasoline or service stations; supermarkets; fast food restaurants; libraries and passenger terminals among others.
He said these facilities should be a specifically designed station that attaches to a wall, table or counter top.
Its surface should also have enough space to change baby diapers and should also have signs.
The proposed ordinance mandates the Business Permit and Licensing Office together with the Joint Inspection Team of the Cebu City government to ensure compliance of the ordinance, if ever approved.
But the ordinance also states three situations where an establishment may be exempted from the policy.
The first is when no “reasonable” physical alternative exists to providing the facility.
Second is when costs of providing such accommodation exceeds 10 percent of the cost of construction, purchase or modification of the area where the business is located.
The third exemption is when the particular restroom in an establishment is not for public use.
“All establishments and developers and/or operators of public and private establishments are hereby given a period of one year to comply after the publication of this ordinance in a local newspaper of general circulation,” read the proposed ordinance.
It also imposes penalties for violators. First time offenders will be given a warning with the condition that they should be able to install the facility within 15 days after.
On second offense, violators will be fined P3,000 and they will be required to put up the facility in 15 days also.
Violators will be fined P5,000 on the third offense and their business permits will be revoked on their fourth violation.