Bulacan resettlement site gets water services

GUIGUINTO, Bulacan — Thousands of relocated families at the Northville VII resettlement site here will now enjoy piped water service, four months after leaving the Philippine National Railways (PNR) to give way to the North Rail Project.

Mayor Ambrosio Cruz of this town told The STAR that an initial 250 families will get the needed water services after Hiyas Water Resources Inc. (HWRI) completed its expansion project in Barangay Malis on Friday.

Cruz said there are six other resettlement sites in Bulacan from Meycauayan to Malolos where some 12,000 squatters families were relocated in favor of the ambitious North Rail Project, but weeks after they were relocated, they started complaining.

This was due to the absence of piped water services in the resettlement sites, except for the artesian wells built by the contractors of the National Housing Authority (NHA) beside septic tanks.

Other problems that relocated families in other resetttlement sites used to complain were lack of electricity, livelihood, high costs of transportation and other basic services.

"The completion of Hiyas Water’s expansion in Barangay Malis made Northville VII the first and only resettlement site in Bulacan with piped water service," Cruz said.

Earlier, Tony Tengco of the HWRI told The STAR that they invested P3.8 million for the Malis pumping station located at the North Bel Air Subdivision, not far from the resettlement site.