PROVIDING water supply in waterless municipalities in Mindanao is one of the flagship projects of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) for 2025.
“It is our priority to address waterless municipalities here in Mindanao,” MinDA Secretary Leo Tereso Magno said during the Habi at Kape Media Forum on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Magno stressed the water supply program is among the top three flagship projects of the agency alongside the Mindanao Railway Project and the Mindanao Resiliency and Resource Center.
The agency is currently conducting the study along with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to update the listing of waterless municipalities.
Magno recognized that a larger population in Mindanao has no access to Level 3 water systems.
Waterless municipalities, as per DILG, are where 50% of the population does not have access to a Level 3 water system. Level 3 is connected all the way to the households in the area.
According to data from MinDA, there are a total of 213 waterless municipalities identified: 94 in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 43 from Region IX, 33 from Region X, 19 from Region XI, 15 from Region XII, and 9 from Region XIII.
“We are hoping that the budget for this project will be approved by the national government, kung hindi man maghahanap ng ibang source,” Magno vowed.
During the 18th MinDA Board Meeting press conference on June 27, the first board meeting after Magno’s installment, the timetable for implementation of the program is for 2025-2028, with an initial project cost of P3.9 billion, which could vary to the resources of the municipality.
Modalities of implementation and design of the program will conform to the nature of every area, as some areas rely on groundwater; while water desalination is eyed in island municipalities.
