A DAVAO City councilor plans to push for a zero open defecation ordinance amid the recent polio outbreak in the country and after the presence of poliovirus in the waterways in Davao was confirmed.
Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte, committee on health chairperson, said during Usapang Kalusugan Media Forum on Monday, September 30, said that she will propose in the City Council the zero open defecation ordinance to require the households to use toilets with a septic tank and practice proper waste disposal.
“Zero open defecation is a program of DOH (Department of Health) but we don’t have an ordinance right now. We will require all households to have toilets with a septic tank because we found out that some households may have toilets but the waste goes directly to the canal and will end up in the river. We will work so that no household will have that (kind of toilet),” Villafuerte said.
She added that when she attended a seminar of the Davao City Health Office (CHO) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau of the (DENR-EMB), she acquired data on the status of the Davao River and presented it to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
“Tomorrow (October 1), I am scheduled to deliver a privilege speech and we will push for zero open defecation ordinance to strengthen the mandatory immunization for all children to help DOH, Unicef, WHO in their campaign to prevent the resurgence of polio in Davao City,” Villafuerte said.
During the event, she was informed about the overwhelming coliform level of the river that greatly poses risk to the public especially those who will swim in the river and the shorelines.
Villafuerte said she asked the mayor’s clearance before announcing the recent findings to the public as it might impact the city's tourism. The mayor gave her a heads up to share the result with the public so that they will know the risk in swimming in Bankerohan river.
“This is going to be a great challenge. The mayor shared her concern that this will entail a big problem in the urban settlers especially to those who cannot afford toilets. We will ask the barangay captain and help them procure the fund so that they will probably build public toilets,” Villafuerte said.
“We hope that no polio case will be found in Davao City,” she added. (With Elijah Romero, UM Intern)