Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. over the weekend pushed for active collaboration in tackling the conjoined problem of waste management and water security.

During his speech at the Waste and Water Summit at the SMX Convention Center last Friday, Abalos said the national government and local government units should jointly tackle the problem head-on.

“Collaboration here is important,” Abalos said in Filipino. “Let’s talk about the problem. This is why this summit is very important. Don’t be shy with us, tell us the problems facing your communities.”

Undersecretary for Integrated and Environmental Science Carlos Primo David said during the summit that 67 percent or 74 million Filipinos have access to piped, potable water.

However, David added that 3.3 percent or 3.8 million Filipinos still practice open defecation.

Abalos said the national government will establish a standard for cleanliness for localities with his department and local government units tasked to ensure full compliance.

“I’ll work with the DENR on this, we’ll go to the grassroots,” he said.

Government data showed that 61,000 metric tons of garbage are produced daily, 20 percent of which comes from the National Capital Region. In a year, the waste totals 20 to 22 million metric tons.

Abalos took note of the lack of access to sanitary landfills, to which only 1,107 out of 1,634 LGUs nationwide have access to. Uncollected wastes often land in bodies of water like creeks, rivers and coastal areas.

“More or less, 500 LGUs do not have access to sanitary landfills. The question is: Where do they throw away their waste? My guess is as good as yours,” Abalos said.

On the problem of open defecation, or of people using land or bodies of water as toilets, one in four barangays in the Philippines had been certified as Zero Open Defecation Zone.

David’s report that 3.8 million Filipinos still practice open defecation, if true, would be a marked improvement from a 2021 Field Health Services Information System report that 6.3 million households still use unsanitary toilets or practice open defecation.

The 6.3 million households should translate to 24.3 million Filipinos as the average Filipino household has about four members, according to a 2020 Philippine Statistics Authority survey.

Health authorities have warned that open defecation in communities, especially in waterways can lead to diseases such as worm infections and diarrhea.