Safe Drinking Water? Philippines

Is drinking water safe in the Philippines?

Is it safe to drink tap water in the Philippines?

You can get typhoid from drinking contaminated water or by eating contaminated food in the Philippines.

I do not drink any tap water. I only drink distilled water or at least "purified" water. But only buy it from supermarkets or legitimate stores, not from places where empty bottles may have been re-filled with tap water (for example, from street vendors who walk up to you or who sell water on buses). I did make the mistake of drinking Slurpees a few times at a 7-11 store in Makati, Manila. Later at home I wondered why I was not feeling well. Had to take an Imodium tablet. It took several weeks before I went back to the store and asked the manager at the store if they use filtered water in the Slurpee machine. He answered, "No." Then I looked and sure enough there was a hose from the tap water faucet going directly into the Slurpee machine.

It was suggested that I take "Imodium" to settle my stomach if I ever got a touch of gastroenteritis. I used it on several occasions, and it always worked in a matter of an hour or two. Imodium, or a generic (which is in small green and gray capsules,) is available at Mercury Drugs and other drug stores.

Canteens sell sodas, bottled water and much more. I have never gotten sick drinking name brand bottled or canned drinks from canteens or stores. Prices are much lower in the canteens than in convenience stores like 7-11 and Mini Stop.

I have a Filipina relative in Metro Manila who got Typhoid from drinking tap water in her own house. She was VERY seriously sick with a very high fever and needed medication for several days. She recovered. They purchased a double filter system from Ace Hardware which was located in a nearby mall. The filter system is attached to the wall behind the kitchen sink and the line attaches to the faucet. No one in the family has gotten sick from the tap water since the filter was installed.

After installing this the family has not gotten sick from the water.

Common 5 Gallon Water Bottle

Some Philippine convenience stores (like Mini Mart and some 7-11's) do use purified water in drink machines. Be sure to ask and tell them to show you the source before drinking any of their sodas, Slurpees, Big Gulps or whatever. Often, they will show you large blue plastic bottles. These are used to hold purified water.

Purified Water Refilling Stations

In larger, brand name, convenience stores this water will probably be okay to drink. I have never had a reaction to the "purified" waters, in small 500 ML plastic bottles (16.9 oz US), that SM Malls, Ayala Malls, or Robinson's Malls sell, or the ones sold by convenience stores.

5-gallon bottle of Wilkins Distilled Water on top
of a floor dispenser

Wilkins Distilled Water - a product of the Coca Cola company.

Absolute Distilled Water

But, I feel it is best to stick with either Absolute or Wilkins distilled water for drinking and cooking. Yes, we even used it for cooking. A 500 ML bottle can be purchased for about 30 pesos. We drank those two brands almost exclusively. They can be purchased in 6 litre bottles also. SM Hypermarket at SM City Clark sells several sizes including 10-liter bottles of Wilkins distilled water. Just ask a clerk where it is. The 10-liter bottles are convenient if you drink and / or cook with a lot of distilled water. They are heavy so are hard to carry to a jeepney terminal. Weight is over 22 pounds US or 10 KG. I imagine most people who buy them have a car. From SM Hypermarket a clerk will push your shopping cart to your car, or you may push it yourself.

I keep a small water filter with me when I travel. For those occasions when we run out of purified or distilled water or when only tap water is available. Have never gotten sick when drinking filtered. When traveling I carry mine in my carry-on luggage.

Learn a lot about water and sanitation in the Philippines at this Wikipedia page.

Check out foods to avoid in the Philippines.

CDC advice about Travelers Diarrhea.

Discover Filipino Foods Americans Like.

You will find many American restaurants in the Philippines.

There are grocery stores where you may buy American and European foods.

Malls in the Philippines are World Class! And they feature restaurants from all over the world.

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This article will be expanded upon. Please check back to read more about drinking water, purified water, distilled water and water filtration in the Philippines. Last updated June 4, 2022.

Foods To Avoid Philippines

Foods not to eat in the Philippines

Foods to avoid in the Philippines.

Food not to eat.

You can get typhoid by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water in the Philippines. My sister in law got typhoid. She had a very high fever for a day or two. I insisted she be taken to a doctor. She recovered and the family installed a countertop water filter system.

See this article about don't eat these foods from china. 

There are many sidewalk vendors selling many types of Filipino food.  Have been cautioned to never eat street vendor foods. The only sidewalk vendor foods I have eaten are roasted peanuts and boiled corn cob on a stick. No problems with either. Filipino corn is very large, bright yellow and totally delicious. Reminds me of upstate New York corn. And, I do not drink any tap water. 

It was suggested that I take "Imodium" to settle my stomach if I ever got a touch of food poisoning. I used it on several occasions and it always worked in a matter of an hour or two. 

Mercury Drug

Watson's

Generics

I just asked my wife if she could add to this article and she said, "Warn foreigners not to eat foods prepared at street side "canteens" because they do not keep their foods heated and there are usually flies all over the utensils in the kitchens. Don't buy breads and other items at local bakeries because they very possibly do not keep the kitchen counters and pans and utensils clean." It is not unusual to see flies inside the display counters at local bakeries, donut shops and other street side vendors.

 

  "Even today, the problem of food safety in the Philippines is largely blamed on a lack of enforcement. Tap water is not safe to drink, and food sold by street vendors is still classified as unsafe by the US Center for Disease Control." From an article dated July 11, 2015 at csmonitor.com about the incident where 1,300 school children were sickened eating a Filipino candy.

Canteens do sell packaged products like Filipino and U.S. brand name potato chips, cookies, sodas and much more. I have never gotten sick eating these items. Prices are much lower in the canteens than in convenience stores like 7-11 and Mini Stop.

If you are eating at a Filipino home, I advise precaution. Many dwellings do not have refrigerators. Often foods (are left out of the fridge, sitting on the table for hours, un-refrigerated (like fried chicken.) Apparently, Filipinos are immune to some germs. It will be best if the food is prepared fresh for you. Tell them you have a touchy stomach and need to be very careful about what you eat. I think they will understand. Most likely they have already thought about that.

I even took the precaution of not eating raw vegetables. I ate only cleaned and cooked vegetables.

In restaurants I have been able to eat some lettuce raw. However, once in a "Tokyo Tokyo" (at SM City Clark in Angeles City) and once in a Burger King (at Marquee Mall in Angeles City) I got a stomachache after eating sandwiches with lettuce in them.

There are many American restaurants in Angeles City, Cebu, Manila and in most larger cities in the Philippines.

If you will be staying for an extended length of time, or if you just want to take some food or snacks back to your hotel you may want to visit
grocery stores which sell American and European foods.

Lechon Kawal fried pork (looks like roast pork)

In the Philippines it seems that almost everybody eats pork. Many dishes include pork as an ingredient. I once bought hotdogs at a supermarket which were labeled "chicken hot dogs." Upon reading the ingredients list I found that they also contained "pork."

If you do not want to eat pork be sure to ask restaurants if this or that has pork in it.

See this page about the dangers of eating pork; including video and information about deadly trichinosis and other parasites. See worms being removed from a 3 year old's stomach (Click on the link, YouTube would not allow this video to be shown here due to age restrictions.)

Years ago, I read a long article in the Saturday Evening Post. It explained how there is no guarantee that cooking pork will kill the trichinosis spores. And it also stated that trichinosis also masquerades as 50 different ailments. I just found this via Google Books, it tells about the masquerade. See what a brain surgeon found in a woman's brain (Click on the link, YouTube would not allow this video to be shown here due to age restrictions.)

If you have a weak stomach, you may not want to watch these.

Warning for readers in the USA: The "Cracker Barrel" Restaurants corn bread muffins are obviously made with pork fat! When eating we tasted pork. Obviously, they do not care that there are many people who eschew pork. Pork avoiding Christians, Muslims, Jews and vegetarians beware.

Food poisoning downs over 300 people who ate Pancit Palabok at a mall in the Philippines. Pork is an ingredient in Pancit Palabok.

Another food to avoid in the Philippines is Cassava.

Food poisoning kills 27 at Philippine school. 
Excerpt from this link:
"it (cassava) is poisonous without proper preparation. Eaten raw, the human digestive system will convert part of it into cyanide."

Due to the ongoing Fukushima nuclear disaster it is a good idea to avoid foods imported from Japan. In fact I won't eat any fish from the Pacific ocean.

We try to avoid foods and baby formula from China.

"Spiked food and drink

Some criminals have drugged and robbed tourists travelling alone after an invitation to visit a tourist attraction.

Never leave your food or drinks unattended or in the care of strangers. Be wary of accepting snacks, beverages, gum or cigarettes from new acquaintances. These items may contain drugs that could put you at risk of sexual assault and robbery." excerpt from travel.gc.ca

I just found out that we should tell people do not eat wheat crackers!

Check out my article about Is it safe to drink tap water in the Philippines?

CDC article and advice about Travelers Diarrhea.

Check this link: How to prevent food poisoning at home.

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This article will be expanded upon. Please check back for more information about foods to avoid or food not to eat in the Philippines. This page last updated March 8, 2024.