KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato — The comfort rooms inside the South Cotabato Sports Complex (SCSC) will be made available for use by vendors, concessionaires, and festival-goers during the T’nalak Festival to address sanitation needs and help manage public crowd flow.
This forms part of the preparations for the soft opening of refreshment stalls, “ukay-ukay” booths, and amusement rides on June 18—set a month ahead of the official festival celebration.
Mario Sorongon, chairperson of the T’nalak Festival committee on ukay-ukay, refreshments, and amusement rides, said comfort rooms inside the sports complex will serve as the primary sanitation facility for operators and concessionaires occupying the festival grounds.
“Ang comfort rooms nga aton gamiton ara sa sulod sang SMRAA, kag pwede man ini magamit sang aton operators kag concessionaires para sa paligo, CR kag iban pa nga personal hygiene needs,” Sorongon said.
Aside from concessionaires, Sorongon said vendors and festival-goers near the South Cotabato Provincial Capitol may also utilize comfort room facilities inside the Capitol compound to help address sanitation concerns during the week-long celebration.
He clarified that portalets will not be installed near the amusement rides area because the location lacks a proper exhaust system, making portable toilets unsuitable for public use.
“Wala kita available nga portalets kay wala sang exhaust kag indi ini ideal gamiton sa area sang rides, gani ang gamiton naton amo gid ang CR sa sulod sang SMRAA kag libre ini para sa tanan,” he added.
Sorongon also said that the idea of opening the comfort rooms inside Rizal Park to the public was not approved by the City Government of Koronadal since Rizal Park is currently under construction, and to help ensure proper maintenance and smooth crowd management during the festival.
According to organizers, managing the influx of users inside the park’s restroom facilities may become difficult amid the expected surge of visitors during peak festival days.
Sorongon also reminded joggers and regular users of the sports complex that once festival activities officially begin, the public entrance and ticket booth of the sports complex will be transferred to the back entrance to accommodate the increasing number of visitors and concessionaires.
Festival organizers are expecting thousands of visitors during the celebration, with the installation of amusement rides beginning on June 5, stall installations on June 10, and the festival’s soft opening scheduled on June 18.
