General Santos toilet costs P.35-M

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Flush this deal down the toilet — in Barangay Batomelong.

This barangay is the site of the "world’s most expensive public toilet," according to councilor Jose Mari Natividad.

The city council is set to conduct a probe into alleged irregularities in the construction of the public toilet which reportedly cost a staggering P350,000.

"We will definitely look into it," said Natividad, who chairs the council’s infrastructure committee. He vowed there would be no whitewash in the investigation.

The alleged scam was discovered when the city planning and development office (CPDO) evaluated the project and found that it was substandard and did not comply with specifications.

In a validation report to Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr., Natividad said a public toilet costs only P60,000 to build.

"The money that went into the construction of the toilet would have been of greater benefit if it was used to put up additional school buildings," Natividad said.

The report was endorsed by CPDO chief Telesforo Soza and signed by a team of inspectors composed of Birchly Duarte, Joseph de la Peña, Revioleta Jamero and Laarni Rodriguez.

The project’s contractor, Vertical Builders, allegedly cut corners because the public toilet lacked many of the accessories specified in the program of work — mirrors, diameter grab bars, an aluminum screen, counter cabinets, and partitions for female urinals.

The public toilet also has several cracks on the wall and window jamb, rear and left elevations, and PVC soil pipes in its septic vault.

The toilet’s gutter reportedly leaks, its US-brand lever door lock is defective, and its floor has no tile grout.

The inspection team also found that the fabricated water closet pail-type flushes were allegedly "grossly overpriced" by P280 and P430 per unit.