THE Department of Health has allotted P5 million for the construction of sanitary toilets and septic tanks for 192 households in three villages in Boracay Island.
Assistant Regional Director Ma. Julia Z. Villanueva said their central office has given the Region 6 office the amount.
But the municipal council of Malay has yet to issue a resolution authorizing Mayor Ciceron Cawaling to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the department for the transfer of the fund.
“The local government unit will undertake the project once we have transferred the fund to them,” said Villanueva.
“We hope to realize the project before the end of the year because the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) is strict in terms of the utilization of the budget,” she added.
It was known during the second DOH Region 6 coordination meeting for the Boracay rehabilitation plan in May that 192 households in the island were found to have no sanitary toilets, said Villanueva.
Of the 6,792 households in the island, 6,600 (97 percent) already have sanitary toilets, she said.
The DOH wants “all households in the island to have sanitary toilets,” said the assistant regional director.
Boracay may be declared a “zero open defecation” area once all households there already have sanitary toilets. (PNA)
