Sanity and sanitation in establishments

This is a reaction to the article “Our toilets as mirrors of our country” by Joel Ruiz Butuyan, (Opinion, 3/11/19).

At a time when the country is awash in garbage being irresponsibly thrown by careless people into estuaries, canals, rivers, seas, lakes, and with pollutants in the air coming not only from the exhausts of motor vehicles but also from the mouths of many of the country’s leaders, this article is a most welcome wake-up call.

I, too, have observed this disgusting reality in many of our establishments, both in government and private buildings that allow access to the public. They have toilets, yes, but most lack toilet paper and soap, which are a necessity in such places.

I agree with Butuyan that there ought to be a law that requires these places to provide those necessities as a prerequisite for them to operate. They should also employ personnel to keep them clean at all times. Health officials should also inspect them to see to it that the law is followed.

Just imagine the discomfort you would feel when you are in a building where you have to wait for hours to have your affairs attended to, and your impatience is made worse by the call of nature, but where toilets are dirty and rundown.

I always carry a bag filled with wet tissues, a toilet paper roll and other sanitary articles that I might need whenever I go on a daylong trip, knowing full well that these things may not be available in places where I would be going.

RAMON MAYUGA, ramon.mayuga49@gmail.com