Tourism executives are bragging they can hit the target of 6.5 million foreign tourists this year, but what could possibly cause a backlash from behind is our stark lack of infrastructure and amenities that service literally the “behind”.
Come forth with comfort? This figure can easily be reached with the global promotions of the Miss Universe pageant 2017, the Philippines as chairman now of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and the closer ties established lately with China, Japan, Russia, as well as with members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Tourism prospects are ever brighter because, out of China’s 120 million outbound tourists in 2015 alone, who spent about $104.5 billion abroad, only about half-a-million visited the Philippines in 2015, or an insignificant 0.004 percent of the total. China’s top 5 destinations are South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand, and nowhere is the Philippines in sight.
As tourists come to the Philippines, their first impression will be formed at our airports. Retired political science UP Prof. Clarita Carlos, a Facebook friend, recounted her ordeal at one of our international airports, where she was No. 28 in a queue on only three cubicles in the women’s comfort room, a local euphemism for toilet. One of the cubicles was reserved for seniors, but she realized senior women took an average three times longer so she had no choice but endure the discomfort of holding on longer than usual against nature’s calling.
Legislate more women toilets. She suggested: “Do not travel,” which is bad for our tourism; and second, “Bring your own toilet,” which is her sarcastic way of expressing her gripes and grievances. The impressions do not end with the airports, as tourists will surely shop around in our malls and eat in local restaurants. As many are backpack or budget tourists who shun five-star hotels, they will likely visit our malls, restaurants and other establishments, where they can witness women queuing up for their turn.
What is worse and lamentable is that even known international food chains like MacDonald’s do not provide enough toilets (in some franchise outlets). There are many cases also of only one toilet shared by both men and women. The same is true for public facilities. Years back, I witnessed one toilet shared by both men and women at the end of the LRT 2 line at Recto Avenue, where thousands of commuters get off every few minutes. As there were no public toilets, one had to “seek comfort” elsewhere, to the disdain of nearby restaurants if you do not order food in exchange.
It’s high time Congress and local government units (LGUs) pass bills and ordinances requiring bigger toilets for women. Gender equality and women empowerment must not literally mean equal number of toilet seats, but must address specific needs of women when nature calls. This means more space and time, and therefore more cubicles, unlike men who just need urinals against the wall.
55 die a day from poor toilets. A friend of mine had a daughter who went through college in Manila without using the toilets and, thus, developed kidney problems that led to her youthful death. She commuted from Quezon City, and only relieves herself when she gets back home after school.
Although facilities have improved much since then, former Education Secretary Armin Luistro still admitted in the 2016 Rotary International Conference on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools (WASH) that 3,628 elementary and secondary schools still had no regular source of safe and clean water. While the national toilet-to-pupil ratio of one toilet to 39 students is tolerable, other areas have a one-to-100 ratio.
The National Sewerage and Septage Management Program itself reports that 55 Filipinos die daily because over 90 percent of sewage is not collected or treated. And only 10 percent of the population has access to piped sewage systems; and for those with toilets, many do not have septic tanks; and for those with septic tanks, most have open bottoms that result in leaching into aquifers, from where deepwells for drinking derive water. And even for enclosed septic tanks, many do not undergo regular desludging.
The problem behind ass? The United Nations Children’s Fund reports that over 30 million people in the Philippines do not have water- sanitation facilities. Of this number, about 7.8 million people are forced to open defecation, in the bushes, rivers and, in urban poor settings, in plastic bags that are thrown with the trash. These unhygienic practices cause diarrhea, amoebiasis, cholera and typhoid fever, etc., which are the causes of death, particularly among infants, and also cause the high health costs for the government.
As prevention is better and cheaper than cure, the government must invest massively in public toilets, which require investments in water systems. In short, when the problem of lack of toilets gets TOO BIG, you need more clean WATER systems. And when the demands of the behind ask for it, the government must heed nature’s call.
No need to cover our ass? For past administrations, particularly during Imelda Marcos’s time, we tended to show only what was beautiful and had slum areas covered with walls. But for the first time in history, we hear a president who is not ashamed that foreigners see our stark ugly reality. And to borrow his foul-mouthed language, he is indeed not afraid to cover his ass. He even brought Japanese Prime Minister to his humble home, to show everything, warts and all. This is a signal to everyone to be more transparent and down-to-earth.
For so long, we have been hiding reality from the top and from the front, thus, problems below and behind remain unaddressed. I can’t understand why we are targeting universal access to safe and adequate toilets only by 2028, and not soon enough. And, yet, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo aims to hit 12 million foreign tourists and 89 million domestic tourists by Duterte’s end of term in 2022.
I don’t think we can move forward to the front if we don’t address the problem BEHIND ASS (US), otherwise, we will continue to remain BEHIND in all indicators, as we brag about the highest growth rate in the region.
E-mail: mikealunan@yahoo.com