Netherlands-aided water supply project helps Cebu residents

CEBU, Philippines - The Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Marion Derckx visited yesterday beneficiaries of a sustainable and pro-poor water supply project for Cebu.

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency, through its Sustainable Water Fund, is funding 55 percent (P208 million) of the $8 million (P376 million) five-year private-public partnership water supply project that is expected to help 80,000 of the most vulnerable people in Metro Cebu.

Derckx said that people living in depressed areas deserve better access to services, especially in safe and potable water.

Yesterday, Derckx and top executives of the project partners went to Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City and Barangay Lower Tipolo, Mandaue City, the beneficiaries of the project.

For several years, residents of Lower Tipolo, Mandaue City reportedly had to endure the inconvenience of carrying pails of water from a neighbor’s house through a narrow wooden bridge on stilts.

Aside from the inconvenience of fetching water from their neighbor, they also spent more because they were charged P2 for every pail of water.

With the implementation of the Tubig-Pagasa Project of E & V Water and Life Philippines, a French non-government organization, and MCWD, the residents are thankful that their access to potable water has become easier. 

The water district supplies safe, reliable and affordable water while the organization takes care of the distribution and collection of payments.  (FREEMAN)