16 outstanding restrooms recognized; Muntinlupa City Hall takes grand prize

MANILA, Philippines — Now it can be told: Beauty queens and gorgeous hunks are no longer the only ones who compete for recognition and bag titles and awards.

Public restrooms now also take center stage and compete for the honor of being recognized as the best of the best.

Yes, public restrooms. For the longest time, the Philippines has been notorious for its lack of decent public restrooms, but now the scenario is gradually changing.

Answering to the challenge of elevating the state of public restrooms in the country, the Muntinlupa City Government took the spotlight in the recently concluded 2024 Oro Inidoro Awards, where the local government unit (LGU) bagged two awards, including the Grand Winner Award, for its excellent public restrooms.

The awards body recognized the best restrooms in various parts of the country through three major categories, which are Offices and Schools, Commercial and Retail, and Parks and Terminals. Aside from being recognized as the Grand Winner, the Muntinlupa LGU also finished on top of the Offices and Schools category, edging other finalists such as University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC).

“Gusto nating magkaroon ng pleasant experience ‘yung mga gumagamit ng ating comfort rooms. Importante ang CR sa lahat ng facilities,” said Engr. Dynadelle Aranda, Muntinlupa City Government City Engineer/Acting Building Official, who also took pride in the LGU’s wastewater management.

He added: “Sa pamamagitan ng ating sariling STP (Sewage Treatment Plant), we make sure na bago natin i-discharge ang wastewater, malinis po ito. Importante siya hindi lang para sa sanitation kundi sa health ng buong komunidad.”For the Commercial and Retain category, Calle Café, a restaurant in España, Manila, took the plum, beating the Grand Ballroom of Okada Manila and Cleanfuel’s C5 Amvel branch. 

Meanwhile, Palacio De Memoria, a cultural landmark in Parañaque, won the Parks and Terminals major award over worthy finalists Vista Terminal Exchange and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) took home the special award called Banyo ng Bayan, or the People’s Choice award,