ILOILO Province does not have to look far for proof that its ambitious sanitation target can be achieved. It only has to look at the municipality of Tubungan.
All 48 barangays of Tubungan have achieved Grade 2 certification under the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation, making the town a compelling local model at a time when Iloilo Province faces the enormous challenge of bringing another 1,618 barangays up to the same standard by 2028.
That achievement changes the conversation.
The question should no longer be simply whether Iloilo can attain 100-percent Grade 2 certification. Tubungan has demonstrated that an entire municipality can do it. The more important question now is: If Tubungan can, why not the rest?
Of Iloilo’s 1,721 barangays, only 103 — roughly six percent — have so far secured Grade 2 certification. About 94 percent, or 1,618 barangays, remain outside the higher sanitation standard. Against those daunting figures, Tubungan stands out not merely as an awardee to be congratulated but as a model that must be studied.
When one municipality succeeds where many others still struggle, recognition should be followed by a more important exercise: replication. The provincial government should determine exactly how Tubungan managed to bring all 48 barangays across the finish line.
How were households without adequate toilets identified and assisted? How were barangay governments mobilized? What resources were required? How were sanitation rules implemented and monitored? How were residents persuaded to cooperate? What problems did Tubungan encounter, and how did it overcome them?
Grade 2 certification is no trivial accomplishment. It goes beyond eliminating open defecation. Households must have their own toilets instead of sharing them with other families. Toilets must also be available in schools, markets, plazas and other public facilities, while communities must address indiscriminate garbage disposal and practice proper waste segregation.
Meeting these requirements across every barangay demands more than distributing toilet bowls. It requires leadership at the municipal and barangay levels, household cooperation, resources, monitoring and sustained behavioral change.
This is precisely why Tubungan matters. Instead of allowing every municipality to struggle independently toward the same destination, Iloilo should turn successful LGUs into mentors. Tubungan’s experience can be documented into a practical sanitation roadmap that other municipalities can adapt according to their circumstances.
Replication does not mean blindly copying everything Tubungan did. Municipalities differ in population, geography, poverty levels, water access and financial capacity. What worked in Tubungan may require adjustment elsewhere. But successful principles can be identified, adapted and scaled.
The Capitol already provides concrete assistance, including an annual P5-million allocation for toilet bowls for municipalities where households continue to share toilets. That assistance can become more effective if combined with lessons from communities that have already successfully completed the Grade 2 process.
There is also a larger reason for urgency. Sanitation is inseparable from public health. Improved sanitation can help reduce diarrhea and other food-borne illnesses, contribute to dengue prevention and improve nutrition, especially among children. This means Tubungan’s achievement should not be viewed merely as compliance with government standards. Behind those 48 certified barangays are communities that have taken concrete steps toward cleaner surroundings and healthier living conditions.
Iloilo has already achieved Grade 1 or Zero Open Defecation status, an accomplishment recognized in the 2023 Galing Pook Awards. Grade 2 is the next test — and a considerably more demanding one.
But Tubungan has shown the way. The challenge for Iloilo is to make sure the rest can follow.
