Cebu City Launches Caravan To Give Water To Residents In Parched Mountain Village

The Cebu City Government has launched a water caravan to deliver water to at least 200 families in the nine sitios in the parched mountain village of Budlaan.

Julius Golosino, supply officer of the city’s Department of Public Services (DPS), said a total of 523 containers or 10,460 liters of potable water were delivered on Wednesday to Budlaan, a water crisis hotspot in the north district of Cebu City.

Four fire trucks also carried water for domestic use to the barangay.

The city government said private bulk water provider Pilipinas Water Resources Inc. (PWRI) provided the potable water, while the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) supplied the water for domestic use.

Harold Alcontin of the Quick Response Team and Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) said the water shortage has reached the critical level.

The water caravan is an initiative by “Water is Life,” a task force composed of public and private institutions in Cebu City, in an effort to address the current water crisis.

Cebu City Legal Office Chief Jerone Castillo, who co-heads the Water is Life task force, said they will continue to address the water supply problem until the rains come.

Earlier, the city government declared a state of calamity after residents of mountain villages, especially the farmers, complained of a severe shortage of water, drying up their farms and damaging their crops. (PNA) FFC/EB/EBP