ILOILO Province has set an admirable but daunting goal: every one of its 1,721 barangays should achieve Grade 2 certification under the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation by 2028. The problem is that the province is still standing near the starting line.
Only 103 barangays have so far earned Grade 2 certification. That is roughly six percent of the province-wide target. The remaining 1,618 barangays — about 94 percent — still have to qualify within the next two years.
Those numbers should inject urgency into Iloilo’s sanitation campaign.
Setting a 100-percent target is easy. Achieving it barangay by barangay, household by household, is another matter entirely. With such a huge gap between the present accomplishment and the 2028 objective, the provincial government and municipal governments must now demonstrate that the deadline is supported by a realistic, measurable and adequately funded roadmap.
Grade 2 certification is not simply another government plaque to hang on a barangay hall wall. It requires households to have their own toilets instead of sharing them with other households. Schools, markets, plazas and other public facilities must have toilets. Communities must also address indiscriminate garbage disposal and practice proper waste segregation.
In other words, this is not merely a certification exercise. It is about whether families have access to basic sanitation and whether communities are capable of maintaining environments that protect human health and dignity.
The numbers therefore demand more than encouragement. Iloilo needs a barangay-by-barangay sanitation battle plan. Which of the 1,618 remaining barangays are closest to Grade 2 certification? Which are farthest behind? How many households still lack their own toilets? Which municipalities face the biggest sanitation gaps? How much will bringing every barangay into compliance cost, and where will the money come from?
These questions must have measurable answers.
The provincial government’s annual allocation of P5 million for toilet bowls in municipalities where households continue to share toilets is a concrete intervention. But with 1,618 barangays still outside Grade 2 certification, government must continually determine whether existing resources are proportionate to the scale of the challenge.
There is proof that the goal is achievable. Tubungan has already brought all of its 48 barangays up to Grade 2 standards. Instead of merely applauding Tubungan, the province should dissect its success. What did it do differently? What practices can other municipalities replicate? Successful LGUs should become laboratories from which struggling communities can learn.
There are serious public-health consequences at stake. Improved sanitation can help reduce diarrhea and other food-borne illnesses, contribute to dengue prevention and improve nutrition, particularly among children. Toilets and proper waste management may not carry the glamour of bridges, highways or grand government buildings, but they are among the most basic foundations of a healthy community.
Iloilo has already demonstrated what sustained sanitation work can accomplish when it achieved Grade 1 or Zero Open Defecation status, an achievement recognized in the 2023 Galing Pook Awards. But yesterday’s award cannot substitute for tomorrow’s work.
One hundred three barangays down. One thousand six hundred eighteen to go.
The goal is worthy. The deadline is approaching. Now Iloilo must prove that 100-percent Grade 2 certification by 2028 is a plan — not merely a promise.
