Access to adequate sanitation remains one of the most urgent yet overlooked challenges in many coastal communities across the Philippines. One of the coastal barangays in the Municipality of Tudela, Misamis Occidental, is Barangay Barra. A coastal community with an estimated 36% of households lacking individual toilet facilities. With no other option, many residents resort to open defecation along the shoreline and within nearby mangrove areas, a practice that endangers public health, contaminates marine ecosystems, and degrades the coastal environment.

Health agencies consistently highlight the dangers posed by inadequate sanitation. UNICEF (2023) reports that poor sanitation directly contributes to the spread of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and parasitic infections. The World Health Organization (2022) warns that open defecation leads to persistent environmental contamination and undermines efforts toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6: ensuring clean water and sanitation for all. In the Philippine context, studies have shown that untreated human waste in coastal barangays directly pollutes nearshore waters, affecting not only the well-being of residents but also the sustainability of fisheries and the local tourism economy (SuSanA, 2012).

In response to these pressing concerns, Misamis University, through the College of Maritime Education’s Coastal Resources Regeneration and Alternative Livelihood (CORRAL) Program, launched the Communal Toilet Project in Barangay Barra. The initiative aimed to improve sanitation conditions, protect environmental health, and uplift community well-being by establishing a shared toilet facility accessible to at least 50 households.