CAAP eyes putting gender-neutral restrooms in all airports

MANILA — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) eyes to have gender-neutral restrooms in all 42 commercial airports it manages, an official said Tuesday.

Aside from CAAP’s office in Pasay City, 15 of its airports now have this kind of restroom. These airports are in Iloilo, Bacolod, Roxas, Laoag, Legazpi, Naga, Virac, Busuanga, Laguindingan, Dipolog, Butuan, San Jose, Basco, Marinduque, and Tandag.

Apolonio told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) the Authority allots five percent of its annual budget for Gender and Development (GAD) program.

“(The budget allocation is also used for) the provision and construction of breastfeeding rooms, diaper changing areas, and kids’ play area,” he said.

According to Apolonio, CAAP’s initiative to provide gender-neutral restrooms in airports started in 2015.

“The design would depend per airport, but usually (the restrooms) are designed as a separate building,” he added.

“Hopefully, the project would continue so that all of our airports would have gender-neutral restrooms,” Apolonio remarked.

He also said that every GAD restroom has four separate rooms: for female, male, persons with disabilities, and gender-neutral.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Tuesday, CAAP bared that the idea of having gender-neutral restrooms came after LBBTQ attendees of a CAAP-organized gender sensitivity forum shared feeling of discrimination whenever they use restrooms.

This year, the other CAAP airports that would have gender-neutral restrooms are in Basco, Marinduque, Virac, Bacolod, Roxas, and Butuan, it said.