Puerto Princesa City formulates Local Sustainable Sanitation Plan

On May 16 to 18, representatives from the Puerto Princesa City Health Office, USAID’s Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project and Sea Oil Foundation through Single Drop Consultancy Services conducted a writeshop for the formulation of Puerto Princesa City’s Local Sustainable Sanitation Plan (LSSP). Five pillars of LSSP were highlighted in the workshop, namely: water, solid management, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), wastewater management (septage, sewerage and sewage), with special emphasis on WASH in emergencies. The participants agreed to draft strategies to address key challenges related to integration of fragmented initiatives on sanitation, operations and maintenance, enforcement of regulations and standards, and contingency planning, among others. Furthermore, the participants identified activities to support the creation of a water safety plan, organization of the water quality and monitoring committee, and the development of implementing rules and regulations. Prior to this workshop, USAID/SURGE and the Single Drop Consultancy Services assisted the city government in finalizing the executive order for the creation of the LSSP Formulation Team and in identifying key activities for the second quarter. The writeshop is among the key activities planned for the quarter, along with the LSSP mentoring, stakeholders’ consultation and validation, LSSP refinement and adoption, and the launching of a sanitation roadshow.