Pasay pushes for removal of MMDA’s pink urinals

Citing possible risks to the health of city residents, health officials in Pasay City have recommended the removal of the public urinals installed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Rosendo Cabanayan, of the Pasay City Sanitation Office, said the pink urinals built in the city are now defective and emit foul odor because they have not been properly maintained.

He noted that it is the MMDA’s responsibility to ensure that the urinals, which have been set up along major roads of the city, are always clean and in good condition.

"Before the city health office came out with its recommendation, we first conducted an inspection of these public toilets. We observed that they are malfunctioning and emit foul odors, which contribute to the creation of a unhealthy environment," Cabanayan stressed.

He added that the urinals can even be considered "eyesores" in the city and "should be knocked down soon."

Around 17 pink urinals have been put up in Pasay, including the Baclaran area and Domestic Road going to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

"The recommendation has been forwarded to the office of Mayor Wencesalo Trinidad," Cabanayan pointed out. "We just have to wait for his decision."

‘Help us clean them’

MMDA General Manager Robert Nacianceno said the Pasay City government can probably help them keep the public toilets tidy.

"Instead of getting rid of the pink urinals, there is a better way of solving the problem, which is by working together," Nacianceno said. "The MMDA urinal serves its purpose as more than 300 persons use a single urinal a day."

He said the MMDA believes that letting the pink urinals stay would be better than having go back to the practice of urinating on walls.

"Sayang naman," Nacianceno said while expressing confidence Trinidad will rule in favor of working together to resolve a problem.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando joined local officials of Metro Manila in a workshop in Mandaluyong City yesterday to discuss the agency’s problems and how local government units in the metropolis can help empower the agency.

Nacianceno said the activity gave vice mayors and councilors a chance to ask questions, make suggestions, and interact with MMDA officials in order to come up with proposed amendments to the law that created the agency. – Rhodina Villanueva, Michael Punongbayan