The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved the release of P565 million to fund potable-water system projects to the country’s 10 “poorest provinces.”
Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the amount is part of the 2014 national budget of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) that seeks to support water-source development and the construction of pumping stations and pipe lines.
He said the fund will cover the development of water-supply facilities in 38 water districts in10 provinces. These include Abra, Kalinga, Masbate, Camarines Sur, Western, Eastern and Northern Samar, Zamboanga del Norte, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur.
Abad said a water district is defined by LWUA as a local corporate entity that operates and maintains a water-supply system in one or more provincial cities or municipalities.
He said the P565 million will also cover the development of Level III water-supply systems, or the actual service connection of individual households to the water supply.
“Ensuring better access to quality health services—such as safe drinking water—is one of the keystones of our development agenda. This applies most especially to our poorest provinces, where there isn’t enough potable water to go around,” said Abad in a news statement released on Tuesday.
The budget chief said the DBM has given LWUA “the go signal to develop these water systems and bring reliable and sustainable water-supply services to communities in need.”
“In the short term, we’re after the immediate improvement of health and sanitation conditions in these areas. Ultimately, our goal is—as always—to enhance the overall standard of living for the country’s poorest,” Abad said.