Bill to Provide Restrooms, Free WiFi in All Transport Terminals Approved by the Senate

Anyone who has traveled around would probably have long stories to tell about their experiences with restrooms in the Philippines. Of course, we'd like to think that they're good ones worth remembering, but unfortunately, most of them are enough to make a person's skin crawl.

The good news is that the Senate has approved on its third and final reading a bill that aims to improve the country's restroom facilities on "land transportation and roll-on/roll-off (roro) terminals nationwide."

Senate Bill 1749 (SBN 1749), or an "Act to Improve Land Transportation Terminals, Stations, Stops, Resto Areas and Roll-on/Roll-off Terminals," gained 18 affirmative votes, with 0 "no" votes and abstention.

It ordered the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), together with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and other concerned agencies, to provide not just clean and sanitary restrooms, but also free internet access in these terminals and at least one lactation station that is separate from the sanitary facilities.

"I am sure you travel and seen this for yourself. Sometimes, we go to gas stations and use the restrooms there and we cannot even use it if we do not fill up or we do not buy anything from the store," said Senator Grace Poe, who was the primary author and sponsor of the bill.

The senator also added that a clean toilet is a like haven for the 42 million Filipinos or 58 percent of the population aged 15 and above who traveled in 2016.

"Seventy-nine percent of domestic travelers in 2016 spent around P476 per trip for land transportation. Let us repay them with transport terminals that have clean toilets free of charge, a decent breast feeding station and free wifi or internet," Poe said.

She also added that tourism expenditures had reached P2.108 billion in 2016.

Once the bill is passed into law, all stations, stops, land transport terminals, rest areas, and RORO terminals will be mandated to provide its users clean, sanitary facilities. Fee collection will be prohibited, except for luxe comfort rooms.