Pasay issues ultimatum over MMDA urinals

Pasay Mayor Wenceslao "Peewee" Trinidad asked the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday to immediately remove public urinals and waiting sheds in the city or else he would undertake the job and send the agency the bill later.

Trinidad said there are two reasons why the MMDA should remove the said fixtures from Pasay City.

First, a recent survey conducted by the local Solid Waste Management Office showed majority of the respondents are not in favor of MMDA’s projects; and second, the agency implemented the projects without proper coordination with the concerned local government.

In his letter to Director Angelito Vergel de Dios, concurrent officer-in-charge of the Traffic Operations Center (TOC) of the MMDA, Trinidad requested "the immediate removal of the installed fixtures in the city. Failure to act on this matter constraints the city to remove said fixtures at the expense of the MMDA at the soonest possible time."

He said he would send the cost of removing the structures, such as hiring of labor workers and equipment to be used in undertaking the said project.

Enclosed in the letter was the results from the 184 respondents, comprising of the city residents and commuting public along Taft Avenue, Buendia Avenue, and Libertad street.

Although the sheds and urinals may have brought relief to some people, most are against it. Only 57 of the respondents said they approved while 127 said they were against the construction of waiting sheds. On the other hand, 48 people said "yes" as opposed to the 136 people who said "no" to the urinals.

"The general impression of survey respondents is that waiting sheds and public urinals will only add problem to congested sidewalks of the city. Furthermore, respondents claim that waiting sheds will only increase incidence of illegal vending while public urinals are permanent eyesores," said SWM officer-in-charge Benjamin Reyes.

Trinidad said the fixtures are not properly situated and are unsightly.

"Imagine seeing people relieving themselves along the national road, why didn’t the MMDA install them on the auxiliary roads. The urinals in the end will stink. I have not seen a public toilet that did not stink. If they need to answer the call of nature, they can always go to an establishment like fast food outlets," he said.

The mayor said MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando has the habit of enacting projects without consulting the local chief executives of Metro Manila.

He said the MMDA once sent him a letter asking for location sites for the urinals, but before they could reply, the MMDA began constructing the urinals and sheds without his approval.

"Mainit-init pa nga ang sulat nila sa mesa ko, nag-tayo na sila," Trinidad said.

There is also a level of aversion to waiting sheds.

"The location is bad because they occupy the sidewalks. I thought the MMDA was clearing the sidewalks. They remove the vendors, and replace them with waiting sheds," he added.