Forty Zero Open Defecation (ZOD)-declared barangays in Negros Occidental each received P20,000 in cash incentive from Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Capitol in Bacolod City April 23.
La Carlota City and the municipality of San Enrique, earlier named as ZOD-declared local government units, meanwhile, received cash incentives of P100,000 each.
The ceremonial turnover of cash incentives was held at the Governor’s Office, attended by provincial sanitation inspector Marilyn Ostan, Dr. Rhoel Mogul of the Provincial Health Office, and the respective punong barangays, health officers, and sanitation inspectors.
A particular city, municipality, or barangay is ZOD-declared when all its households have access to sanitary toilet facilities and have stopped the practice of open defecation, resulting in zero human feces exposure in the environment, a Capitol press release said.
The Department of Health launched the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation (PhATSS) policy in 2019, with sanitation targets for all barangays across the country to achieve ZOD status by 2025.
Using the PhATSS policy, LGUs are guided on how to track the sanitation situation of each community and take supportive action to ensure that no one is left behind without access to a sanitary toilet, the DOH said.
While policies and standards are set by the DOH at the national level, the LGUs are at the forefront of implementing sanitation programs, thus, the task to make each barangay in the country ZOD lies in their hands. ||
