Bong Revilla wants restrooms along PHL highways

The Senate committee on public works on Tuesday pushed for the passage of a bill that would direct the government to construct public restrooms along national and provincial highways throughout the country. Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., committee chairman, led Tuesday's hearing on his Senate Bill No. 22, which requires the government to construct restrooms every 30 to 50 kilometers along national and provincial highways. "This is long overdue... talagang kailangan natin ito (We really need this)," Revilla told reporters after the hearing. He explained that having standard public restrooms would make the travel of locals and tourists — sources of income for the government — more comfortable and enjoyable. "Para kapag nagbabiyahe sila sa malalayong lugar at least makikita nila na meron tayong mga rest areas na public restroom na maganda (So that when they travel to faraway places, they'll at least see that we have clean public restrooms)," he said. Representatives from the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) who were present during the hearing were all supportive of the bill. "As far as DPWH is concerned, we don't have any problem with having restrooms along the highway. The only problem we have is maintenance," said DPWH director for planning service Melvin Navarro. Revilla said they will refer the bill to a technical working group to determine who will be tasked to maintain the restrooms, whether it will be the local government units, national government, DPWH, or DOT. He said they still have to figure out whether they will ask for payment in exchange for using the restrooms. "This would also be an income-generating measure for our [local government units]. This would be a great help to empower our barangays," he said. Under SB 22, the maintenance and supervision of public restrooms shall be vested in the city or municipal government that has jurisdiction over the area. Revilla said the cost of constructing one public restroom was estimated by the DOT to be from P500,000 to P1 million. He noted, however, that they will still try to lower the expense. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News