LA TRINIDAD is earning on pay toilets.
La Trinidad Councilor Roderick Awingan said pay toilets in the municipality generates an income of over P11 to 13 million a year, enough to sustain and finance the appropriations for personal services.
With the income, Awingan is seeking the approval of the ordinance prescribing the guidelines in the operation and maintenance of the Municipal owned Toilets as Other Economic Enterprise (OEE) of the municipality.
In this ordinance, all pay toilets should be kept clean and in good condition and must comply to other sanitary maintenance.
Councilor Henry Kipas said the ordinance should show the main objective of the project which is the improvement and maintenance of the pay toilets.
“We should prove to the people that it needs to be carefully managed because it is a source of income”, Kipas said.
But Awingan added as much as they want to collect the income from these toilets, the main intention of the ordinance is to improve the services, and provide appropriate necessary guidelines for maintenance and management of these economic enterprise.
At least seven pay toilets are operating in the valley located at the different areas in the town.
Awingan said there will be a steering management committee to facilitate the immediate repair, maintenance, and improvement of all the pay toilets declared as an economic enterprise in the municipality.
Likewise, the committee will prepare the development of a business plan which will cover all relevant facets of the pay toilets operations, including management, staffing, risk analysis, sales, and marketing. Also, the committee shall facilitate the immediate procurement and purchase of consumables, equipment and other materials needed by any pay toilets in the municipality.
The funding requirements of all the pay toilets will be sourced from its respective income or service fees.
Awingan also considered the suggestion of Councilor Guiller Galwan to add in the ordinance the steering committee will have a right to lease the facility to any private capable entity. (Kaizzer Khimberlee Ponce, UP Baguio intern)