House OKs bill barring bus stops from charging passengers for toilet use

Passengers may heave a sigh of relief after the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading a bill prohibiting companies from collecting fees for the use of toilets and other sanitary facilities in bus stops and terminals.

House Bill No. 5067 will impose a P5,000 fine on any owner, operator or administrator of land transport terminals, stations, stops and rest areas who is found guilty of collecting fees from passengers using toilets, hand-washing and drinking facilities in these areas.

But passengers will only be exempted from paying for the use of these sanitary facilities if they can show a valid and paid bus ticket.

The ban on collecting fees for the use of restrooms will not apply to separate, deluxe or well-appointed sanitary facilities that are operated solely for commercial purposes and for the convenience of the passengers who prefer them.

Mountain Province Rep. Maximo Dalog, the bill’s principal author, earlier urged the Senate to pass its own version of the bill to put an end to bus operators’ practice of “exploiting their passengers” by charging them a certain fee for using the toilet.

“What’s even more disturbing is the fact that many pay toilets [in bus stops and terminals] are quite filthy,” he said.

The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) said in 2012 that it plans to rehabilitate around 1,017 public toilets in airports, seaports, and train stations all over the country.

Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, then DOTC secretary, said the project would “restore the pride and dignity of Filipinos” by giving them access to clean and functioning toilets in these areas. — JDS, GMA News