New DBP program to provide water in waterless areas

State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is seeking to provide safe, potable and affordable water supply to waterless areas around the country with the launching of the Financing Program for  the Water Sector (FPWS).

DBP president & chief executive officer Francisco F. Del Rosario, Jr. said the financing program is in line with the Bank¹s key thrust of promoting environmental protection and sustainable development, particularly the sustainability of the country¹s water resources. "The FPWS will help increase the number of households with sustainable access to safe and affordable drinking water and enable local  government units, water districts,  and  private  water  service providers to initiate, improve and sustain  water  supply  services,"  he added. He likewise said the FPWS is also designed to assist the national government in its commitment to the Millennium Development  Goal  of  attaining  86.9%  of the population with access to safe water by 2015.

Del Rosario said that the bank is investing an initial P5-billion for the program to assist 498 waterless municipalities, 780 water districts operating below 50% service coverage and other water service providers with below 50% service coverage.

He added that DBP currently has P1.2-billion worth of pipeline projects, bulk of  which  will assist projects in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union in Region 1; Aurora, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Zambales in Region 3; Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Romblon, and Occidental Mindoro in Region 4; and Western Samar and Leyte in Region 8.

Del Rosario said  DBP will  undertake continuous coordination with government  agencies involved in the project such as  the Local Water Utilities  Agency,  National Anti-Poverty Commission, and the Department of Interior and Local Government to ensure the effective implementation of the program.

Non-operational  water districts or those operating below 50% service coverage, local  government units without level 3 water supply system or with level 3 water supply system but with less than 50% service coverage, and  participating financial institutions and microfinance institutions are eligible to borrow under this facility.

The program will fund the source development, construction, expansion, rehabilitation  and  improvement  of  level 3 or 2 water supply projects.    Level  2 is defined as communal or public faucets at strategic locations  in  the  community  while  level  3  is  a  piped connection to households and commercial  establishments.  The program will also promote the  efficient  use of water resources and  climate change technologies such as   the  development  of  alternative  water  impounding  areas  and rain collection system.