EDITORIAL - Discomfort zones

Filipinos call them comfort rooms, and the facilities are missing in many parts of the country. The lack of roadside toilets is a common complaint of visitors in the Philippines, Sen. Ralph Recto disclosed at the recent hearing on the budget of the Department of Tourism.

Recto said the country has one of the world’s lowest ratios of public toilets per kilometer of national road: about 1 for every 1,000 kilometers. It seems a succession of administrations hoped the private sector would deal with the lack, by installing toilets in gas stations, fast-food outlets and other commercial establishments.

Fast-food outlets, gas stations and shopping malls may be ubiquitous in cities across the country, but there are still too many long stretches of roads without a single modern toilet. The best that travelers can hope for is a latrine in a nipa hut or an outhouse.

Recto wants part of the travel tax collected by the government to be used to construct roadside toilets. The government collects an average of P10 million daily in travel taxes, with departing passengers paying amounts ranging from P300 to P1,620. The money is collected by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, with 40 percent going to the Commission on Higher Education.

In the proposed national budget for 2015, P16.3 billion is also being allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways for construction or repair of roads leading to tourist destinations.

From the NAIA to tourist spots, providing clean, modern public toilets with running water and enough toilet paper has always been a problem in this country. Shopping mall operators have led the way in upgrading public toilets, with some facilities even having air-conditioning. But the malls can cover only a few areas. For the rest of the country, the government must step in. The Philippines takes pride in its hospitality. This should be reflected in the quality of its public comfort rooms.