Tubungan: The Municipality of Tubungan is the first local government unit in Iloilo province to be certified for the Grade 2 (G2) status, or Basic Sanitation Status of the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation (PhATSS) of the Department of Health. The G2 status mandates the practice of maintaining proper sanitation, ensuring that no one defecates in any open or isolated areas, and that toilet sharing is prohibited. It also requires that all public health facilities, including schools, covered gyms, churches, and public markets, should be equipped with proper sanitation facilities.
According to Philippines News Agency, Tubungan Mayor Roquito Tacsagon credited barangay officials for their efforts in ensuring the success of the campaign, as well as the support of the community. "We campaigned and tried to ensure that their constituents have their own comfort rooms. Even if they are in the same household but different families, they should have different comfort rooms," he said.
He mentioned that each barangay has its own fund, supported by the provincial and local governments, to extend very minimal help to the households in purchasing the materials. "We let the people understand that it is their primary responsibility to establish their own comfort room. It is necessary because if they have their own CR, we can avoid diseases," he added.
Tubungan has close to 6,000 households, and the campaign continues, he said. "We do not target just for recognition, but the purpose is to avoid diseases," he added.
During the recent Iloilo Provincial Health Summit, Dr. Maria Socorro Qui±on stated that all 48 barangays of Tubungan, including those in geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas, are G2-compliant. The target is for all barangays and municipalities of the province to achieve G2 status by 2028. "We encourage all barangays and municipalities to support our call for G2 declaration since this initiative is a very crucial and fundamental health intervention," she added.
The province achieved the G1 (Zero-Open Defecation) status in 2022.
