1. Phased
approach
to improved
sanitation
UNICEF
support
Children as
agents of
change
Increased
local
investment in
WASH
With their hands up in the air and their fingers doing
the numbers, local leaders and heads of government
agencies started the countdown to improved sanita on
in the province of Masbate.
Over 100 health officials including sanitary inspectors,
midwives, nurses and community volunteers
par cipated in the first ever Summit on Water,
Sanita on and Hygiene (WASH) in Masbate on June
16, 2015. Dubbed as “Masbate: Countdown to 0,” the
conference provided par cipants with a menu of good
prac ces in WASH governance that can be replicated in
other areas.
Located at the center of the Philippines, Masbate has
one of the lowest access rates to sanitary facili es. Only
two out of five households have their own sanitary
Communication
for Development
toilets. Open defeca on is widely prac ced especially
in communi es along the coastline and up in the
mountains.
“Addressing our problem in sanita on will significantly
improve the condi on of our people,” said Ac ng
Governor Vicente Homer Revil in a speech read by
Ac ng Vice Governor Jo Kris ne Revil.
Revil announced the scaling up of a WASH program
in the province that aims to eliminate the prac ce
of open defeca on. Through an Execu ve Order, he
enjoined other local chief execu ves to adopt the Rural
Sanita on Gradua on Framework, recommended by
the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Water and
Sanita on Project (WSP) of the World Bank.
to improved sanitation begins in Masbate
“Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Zero!”

2. This framework encourages community residents to
build simple and affordable sanitary toilets through
a phased approach. The phased approach monitors
communi es as they move from one ideal condi on
to another. The first phase involves the transi on from
a Grade 0 status where open defeca on is widely
prac ced to a Grade 1 condi on where all households
have access to simple, low-cost sanitary facili es.
“I am convinced that this approach is more effec ve
than the tradi onal prac ce of giving out toilet bowls
to our cons tuents,” said Mayor Na vidad Magbalon
of the municipality of Milagros.
During the summit, a film about the journey of an
island barangay in Milagros toward Grade 1 or Zero
Open Defeca on was shown. Barangay Guinluthangan
achieved this status in only six months.
A er achieving a Grade 1 status, communi es like
Guinluthangan are encouraged and supported
to reach Grade 2. At this level, all sanita on
facili es should be made sustainable, mee ng the
minimum requirements of a hygienic toilet and
possess addi onal characteris cs such as being
designed against geohazards like typhoons, floods
or earthquakes. Government buildings like daycare
centers, barangay halls and schools should also have
sanitary toilets.
The most ideal state in this phased approach is the
Grade 3 level in which solid waste management is
widely implemented and sustained.
Mayor Magbalon has championed this approach since
seeing firsthand the immediate reac on of community
residents when they were exposed to human feces
collected from defeca on sites as part of a series of
ac vi es called Community-led Total Sanita on (CLTS).
Phased approach to improved sanitation
A resident from the island barangay of
Guinluthangan demonstrates how to take care of
her family’s newly installed toilet.
“The usual prac ce of distribu ng toilet bowls has not
worked. We have to discover what mo vates people to
change their behaviors,” said Magbalon.
Feelings of shame and disgust arise a er a typical CLTS
encounter, leading to quick decisions of household
heads to build their own sanitary toilets and abandon
the prac ce of open defeca on.
“The experience is so visceral a er a CLTS. I have
encouraged more families to have their own toilets in
the last year than in the previous ten years of my work
as a sanitary inspector,” said Max Rosallosa from the
town of Milagros.
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3. With funding from UNICEF, ACF Interna onal has
provided technical assistance to four municipali es
namely Aroroy, Milagros, Monreal and Cawayan in
adop ng the phased approach. Since June 2014,
out of 20 barangays where the phased approach
was implemented, seven had already been declared
as Zero Open Defeca on villages. This means that
the prac ce of open defeca on has now been fully
abandoned.
Two more barangays reached the Grade 1 status,
namely Malubi in Aroroy and Guinluthangan in
Milagros. In these two barangays, local leaders heard
about the phased approach from other communi es
and decided to adopt the same strategy.
At the summit, sanitary inspectors like Leizel Cortez
from the Municipality of Cawayan no longer felt that
the job of improved sanita on is solely their task. “We
are not alone. We are now part of a team who really
cares for the well-being of Masbateños.”
Na onal government agencies like the Department
of Health (DOH) and the Department of Educa on
(DepEd) pledged their support. “We are one with
Masbate in the campaign to bring open defeca on to
zero,” said Engineer Roland San ago of DOH.
Development agencies like UNICEF, WSP, ACF
Interna onal, Plan Philippines and the Center for
Health Solu ons and Innova ons Philippines, Inc.
(CHSI) also took part in the summit.
Leo de Castro, WSP Area Coordinator, shared the
strategy of working within the condi onal cast transfer
program of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD). “Achieving gains in improved
sanita on contributes to improving the economic
condi ons of Filipino families and their children.”
UNICEF support
Louise Maule, UNICEF WASH chief, speaks about
the role of children as agents of change.

4. “Children are at the heart of what we do,” said Louise
Maule, chief of UNICEF’s WASH program. She cited
local and global evidences on the role of children as
agents of change.
“It feels great to be part of this campaign. We know
that our crea ve way of giving informa on about the
importance of clean drinking water, sanitary toilets and
handwashing can help other children,” said 14-year old
Jonard Escobar.
A er being trained by UNICEF and CHSI on Theater for
Development, Escobar is now part of a group of high
school students who are performing a musical play in
schools and communi es in Cawayan about the role of
children in promo ng access to water and sanita on
and be er hygiene.
Vice Governor Revil lauded Escobar and his team a er
they performed selected scenes from the musical play
at the summit. “We are proud of them and eager to
hear more about their work in this program.”
In July 2015, UNICEF and ACF will provide hygiene kits
of soaps, toothbrushes and toothpaste to children in
over 130 elementary schools and 260 daycare centers
as part of the WASH strategy in learning ins tu ons.
Youth leaders will also be trained as WASH advocates.
Daycare center workers will also undergo a training on
the use of learning modules to integrate key hygiene
messages in their daily lessons.
Children as agent of change
Acting Vice Governor Kaye Revil
joins in the fun while watching a
scene from the play, Goodbye Dumi!
Hello Healthy!
Children from Cawayan perform
a scene from the play, Goodbye
Dumi! Hello Healthy!
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5. Increased local investment in WASH
Revil announced at the summit that the Provincial
Government of Masbate would provide a cash
incen ve of PhP 100,000 for the first barangay from
each of the 21 municipali es and city that will be
declared as Zero Open Defeca on (ZOD) in the next
three months. This amounts to about an addi onal
fund of PhP 2.1 million (US$ 47,000) from the
provincial government. The Provincial WASH Task Force
members are now preparing the mechanics of this
performance-based grant.
The project municipali es have increased the budget
for local WASH programs in 2015. According to
Engineer Arthur Merico, municipal planning and
development officer, about PhP 12 million (US$
272,000) was allocated to scale up the phased
approach in all 41 barangays of Aroroy.
Mayor Edgar Condor of the Municipality of Cawayan
shared that an addi onal PhP 3 million (US$ 68,000)
has been earmarked for the purchase of water-sealed
toilet bowls as incen ves for families who wish
to improve the current condi on of their
sanitary facili es.
The municipality of Monreal allocated
PhP 2 million (US$ 50,000) while
Milagros put PhP 1 million
(US$ 25,000) in its annual
investment plan.
“This is a welcome development. We hope that our
other local mayors will take the challenge,” said
sanitary engineer Romeo Recaña.
Changing the age-old prac ce of open defeca on does
not happen overnight. The phased approach recognizes
that reaching the Grade 1 status is a big step but it is
not the last step in the process.
However, when local leaders, health workers, and other
community allies come together and pledge to make
me-bound ac ons, the journey to transforma on
becomes as urgent as a ten-second countdown.
For Masbate, the countdown has begun.