BACOLOD City – All barangays in the city should have a zero open defecation (ZOD) status, according to the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).
That is why it approved last week an ordinance which seeks the total elimination of open defecation in Bacolod.
The measure, which was authored by Councilor Em Ang, now awaits Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s signature.
Ang – chairwoman of the SP Committee on Health and Sanitation – said the city should “move up the sanitation ladder.”
“The expected output of the campaign is initially the total elimination of open defecation and eventually to reach total sanitation with every household having its own improved toilet facility,” she added.
Open defecation refers to the practice of people to go out in fields, bushes, forests, open bodies of water, or other open spaces rather than using the toilet to defecate, according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
This practice poses a serious threat to public health, especially to children, UNICEF reported.
Eliminating open defecation will reduce risks of children contracting diarrhea and worm infections, said UNICEF Philippines Deputy Representative Julia Rees.
One way of achieving this is providing toilets in areas where there are none, she added.
Aside from providing funds for proactive measures, the pending ordinance would also impose penalties on individuals caught practicing open defecation.
For first offense, violators will be fined P300 or a one-day community service; for the second offense, P500 or two-day community service; and for third offense, P1,000 or five-day community service.
The community service shall be rendered in the barangay where the violator was caught.
Ang said institutionalizing the anti-open defecation campaign would “promote health consciousness” among the people of Bacolod.
On June 25, 2010, the Department of Health (DOH) issued Administrative Order No. 2010-0021, which targets to declare ZOD status in at least 60 percent of all barangays in the country by 2022./PN
