20 City Villages Identified As Initial Recipients Of Water Rationing

An initial 20 barangays experiencing water scarcity and unreached by the services of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) are now recipients of the city government’s water rationing.

Darwin Papa of the city disaster risk reduction and management council said the water delivery by the city government to the barangay is funded with a PHP3-million budget under an emergency purchase arrangement with private contractor Holland Water Resources.

With the fund, the city government will purchase 13,000 cubic meters daily that will serve the need of more than 30,000 households.

The deliveries will be attended by barangay officials, the contractor and representatives of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) since the water deliveries are covered by Comelec rules defining the election campaign in the May 9, 2016 elections.

Papa said deliveries to 20 barangays may last up to 60 days. But if additional barangays will be added to the list, water is only up to 30 to 40 days.

He admitted that there are big communities of more than 2,000 residents which need four to six trucks deliveries per day while others need two to three trucks of water per day.

Water deliveries is separate and different from those earlier initiated by the city government on a limited scheme.

The initial barangays are Camalig, Buntatala, Lanit, Bitoon and San Isidro in Jaro district, Don Esteban and Loboc in Lapuz district, Sooc and Calumpang in Arevalo district, Ortiz, Hughes, Timawa I, Tanza Timawa II, Veterans, Concepcion, Bagumbayan, Tanza Esperanza and Ma. Clara in the city proper, South Fundidor, Boulevard and San Juan in Molo district, Jereos in La Paz district, and Navais in Mandurriao district.

Meantime, MIWD also started water rationing last week to the city barangays.

The city was declared under a state of water calamity by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) here last March 25. (PNA) FFC/PGL/LCP/CBF