City officials recently endorsed the certification of the city government to the regional director of the Cordillera office of the Department of Health (DOH-CAR) as having achieved zero open defecation (ZOD) Grade 1 status pursuant to the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation (PhATSS).
Under Resolution No. 151, series of 2023, local legislators stated that upon verification of the available documents, the same appear to be valid and complete and duly signed by the proper signatories.
By virtue of Presidential Decree (PD) 856, otherwise known as the Sanitation code of the Philippines, DOH is tasked to assist local offices in developing public health programs.
Further, Administrative Order No. 2010-0021 was issued by the Secretary of Health prescribing the guidelines on the sustainable sanitation as a national policy and a national priority program of the said department with the aim of achieving zero open defecation status and attain universal access to safe and adequate sanitary facilities by the year 2028 and a safely managed sanitation service by 2030 in line with the sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Subsequently, Administrative Order No. 2019-0054 was issued by the Secretary of Health prescribing the guidelines on the implementation of the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation that provide the rules, among others, in the verification and certification of barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces for zero open defecation status.
Under PHATTS, 4 sanitation levels were designed to describe the prevailing sanitation practice and quality sanitation service available in a community; each service level corresponds to a set of criteria that shall be verified for compliance before a community is certified.
Earlier, the city government created the verification and certification team to declare the zero open defecation status of the city’s barangays.
The team conducted verification and household inspection as to compliance by the city’s 128 barangays on the criteria for ZOD Grade 1 status on various dates beginning October 8, 20-22, to November 17, 2021 and August 23 to September 2, 2022.
The criteria for ZOD Grade 1 status include open defecation is not practiced; 100 percent of households have access to sanitary toilets; availability of water, soap at or near the toilet in all household toilets; proper disposal of excreta and/or diapers of children, elderly and persons with disabilities; existence of a functional ZOD monitoring team to sustain ZOD status and presence of an operational plan and funding allocation of every barangay to reach Grade 2 status.
As of February 13, 2022, Acting City Health Officer Dr. Celiaflor Brillantes informed the City Council that the team has verified and certified that all the city’s 128 barangays have complied to the criteria of ZOD Grade 1 status.