Uninstalled MMDA urinals rusting away — COA report

Guys who need to go and end up peeing in public would be pissed by this news: the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has not installed more than half of male urinals it bought. And these are now rusting away.   A Commission on Audit (COA) report on Thursday said only 477 out of 1,040 urinals purchased from 2003 to 2009 were installed by the MMDA, and that even these have not been properly maintained.   “The balance of 563 units costing P12.18 million remained uninstalled and improperly stored, some of which are already dilapidated being exposed to the elements,” the COA report said. “Thereby defeating the objective of the program and resulting in wastage of government funds.”   The uninstalled urinals were stacked at the MMDA-Management Recovery Facility Compound while MMDA officials are still deciding when and where to place them.   “Ocular inspection conducted by the audit team revealed that, of the remaining units, 37 urinals were already dilapidated as they were exposed to the elements,” the report noted.   In three tranches between August 2003 and June 2009, the MMDA purchased the metal urinals for distribution in various areas of the metropolis. In the first delivery of 450 urinals in 2003, 166 units were still uninstalled by the end of the same year.   However, the agency purchased 500 units again in May 2008. Of these, only 193 units were installed and 9 were damaged. This left 298 units waiting to be set up despite the existence of a location list where the additional urinals were to be installed.   The last batch of 90 urinals went straight to storage without a single unit put to use.   “Out of the 14 cities in Metro Manila listed as requiring installation of male urinals, 10 cities – Quezon City, Valenzuela, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Makati, Marikina, Pasig, Pateros, Taguig, and Parañaque – were short of the required urinals,” the report said.   COA criticized MMDA management, saying there was no immediate or urgent need for such procurements.   At the same time, MMDA’s lack of initiative to maintain the installed urinals was criticized by the audit team who made the report and who took note of people’s complaints regarding the smells emanating from the urinals.   The present MMDA management said it would closely coordinate with local government units and barangays on installing the remaining urinals this year.   The MMDA launched its urinal project nine years ago to discourage the unsanitary practice of men of urinating in public places – sometimes against the wall or a tree. — GCG/VS, GMA News