DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- The government of Davao City, through its City Health Office, is aiming to provide decent toilets to its residents and be certified as a zero open defecation (ZOD) city.

Luzviminda Paig, head of the Environment and Sanitation Division of the City Health Office, said that at present Davao City is not yet certified as a ZOD city.

“ZOD sa lakton na inistorya kanang wala nay makita na human excreta sa atong mga open space, wala nay hugaw sa tawo na makita sa atong open spaces. Kinihanglan tanan naa na jud toilet (ZOD, in simple terms, means you do not see human excrement in our open space; no more human waste in our open spaces. All houses should have a toilet),” Paig said.

The Department of Health has issued an administrative order that puts in place guidelines for the implementation of the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation.

Also, the DOH issued Administrative Order 2010-0021 titled Sustainable Sanitation as a National Policy, with the ultimate objective of achieving zero open defecation status and attaining universal access to safe and adequate sanitary facilities by 2028.

Paig said the support of the barangay captains is essential to successfully implement the ZOD program. “Kay until now dili pa ta ZOD verified (Because up until now we are not yet ZOD verified),” the City Health official said.

She said there is 80 percent compliance among the city’s barangays, and most of the barangays having difficulty complying with the ZOD are those located along the coastline.

Paig added that ideally it would be ‘one house, one toilet’ but it can be a shared facility.

 “Three households, fifteen individuals for a toilet,” Paig said.

The sanitation chief added that the toilet should have a septic tank to properly dispose of the human waste.

Many houses in the city’s coastal and riverine barangays openly flush their human waste into bodies of water. This would lead to contamination of waterways by various pathogens carried by the human feces thrown into the river.

In 2019, then Davao City Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte proposed a ZOD ordinance shortly after the presence of poliovirus was detected in the riverbanks along Davao River near Bolton Bridge. (RGA/PIA Davao)