A lawmaker has filed a bill banning the collection of fees from any person for the use of comfort rooms in commercial areas to give access to basic services to the public, especially the underprivileged.
AVE Rep. Eulogio “Amang” Magsaysay is author of House Bill 6183 seeking to stop the practice of owners of business establishments, particularly high-end malls, of charging fees for the use of comfort rooms or toilets purportedly for the maintenance of these facilities.
In filing the bill, Magsaysay cited the declared policy of the State that promotes general welfare for the enjoyment of all people.
“The Constitution also promotes basic services to the underprivileged. Good infrastructure is a fundamental component in the proper delivery of basic social services and free and functional toilets are among them,” Magsaysay said.
However, Magsaysay added a number of commercial establishments charge fees for the use of their comfort rooms which negates the constitutional provisions.
Under the “Free Comfort Rooms Act of 2012,” no person or business establishment owner shall collect or solicit fees from any person for the use of comfort rooms within their premises.
The bill penalizes violators with a fine of P10,000 for first time offenders and one year imprisonment or a fine of P20,000 for second time offenders.
The Department of Interior and Local Government and the local government units are directed to administer and monitor the implementation of this Act.
“Waiving these fees gives solution to the shortage of our public comfort rooms. It also fills the inadequacy of current ordinances on the same which are made for specific groups of people, particularly persons with disabilities and senior citizens,” Magsaysay said.
According to Magsaysay, there is also a shortage of free and good comfort rooms in the country. The country’s public school system for one has an estimated shortfall of more than 150,000 comfort rooms which exposed schoolchildren to dengue and other diseases.
He cited a 2007 World Bank study on the economic impacts of sanitation in Southeast Asia which estimated that the Philippines loses approximately $9 billion a year because of poor sanitation.
The study showed that 9.1 million Filipinos still went to the toilet in the open, relying on the streets or in the fields, while 15.2 million used public toilets, Magsaysay said.
Magsaysay lauded the Department of Transportation and Communications which recently bared its plan of constructing and rehabilitating 1,017 public toilets in its attached agencies, including airports, seaports and train stations across the country.
“This news is a welcome development as our infrastructure needs a major facelift with the renewed campaign of the Department of Tourism to reinvigorate the tourism industry,” Magsaysay said.
Magsaysay added while additional infrastructure is needed, changing current practices like the charging of fees for the use of toilets is necessary. Also, improved sanitation practices will help boost the local tourism industry which is trying its best to reinvigorate the country’s spot in the competitive tourism market.
“While pay toilets can be found around the world, they have lost their popularity, particularly in the United States where a campaign by the committee to end pay toilets in America  resulted in laws against pay toilets being made in a number of cities and states in the mid-1970s due to loss of profits,” Magsaysay said.