Fernando shifts to plastic sidewalk urinals

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando is reintroducing what he describes as a better version of his pink sidewalk urinals, which invaded the metropolis more than five years ago.

He said the new version is plastic, which is “more resistant to ultraviolet (light), very washable, (requires) less maintenance, and easier to destroy or replace than” the steel versions introduced in 2003, Fernando told The STAR.

He said about a dozen of the urinals have been installed and more will be put up in the next few months to accommodate persistent requests. There are about 400 steel versions still in good shape, but 500 to 1,000 plastic versions need to be installed.

“The investment is worth it. It’s the same design, the same dimensions... The color stays and vandalisms are easier to remove,” he said of his new urinals.

Fernando said metal urinals each cost P30,000 when they were installed five years ago, and may cost more than P50,000 each now because the price of steel has doubled. The plastic urinals cost about P15,000.

Fernando said most of the requests for urinals come from tricycle terminals or waiting areas where people converge. He introduced his sidewalk urinals years ago in an effort to solve Metro Manila’s problem of men urinating on walls, sidestreets, and corners.

The new plastic urinals, however, require men to have better “target-shooting skills” because the funnel that takes in the urine was made smaller. “Reducing the surface reduces the smell,” Fernando said.

He said he still has miniature versions of his pink urinals, which he had made using his own money, as a personal gift he gives away to friends and visitors.  – Michael Punongbayan