Reported By Rey Anthony ChiuPhilippine Information Agency
Tagbilaran City, Bohol - Sourcing out water for kitchen use has always been laborious: a long walk on slippery moss-laden path up to the mountain while burdened by the sag-ob to the spring about a kilometer away from his small hut.
Fermin Baluran never thought it would come any easier now because he has gracefully surrendered to age his fate of gathering that water. But at 82, the Sevilla born-farmer sighs in relief when a convergence of priorities by government and non-government agencies made water available to him and 76 other households in his remote barangay in Untaga, Alicia.
Identified as one of Bohol’s still existing waterless barangays by Bohol Local Poverty Reduction Action Program, Untaga may have water sources to be tapped, but it’s the fund to develop such that they could not avail.
In Sitio Campayud, Fermin along with several residents owns a house about accessible by a steep and slippery cart trail a kilometer and a half from the national road.
Aware of meager barangay funds, Barangay Chairman Esteban Duyaguit has since prayed for a bigger intervention to allow water from its source to go flowing down the slopes to sitios Aracan, Balikwing and Campayud.
What barangay Untaga residents did not know was that the Philippine Australian Countryside Assistance Program (PACAP) implemented a project called Focused Community Assistance Scheme (FOCAS), which was on the sustainable water and sanitation development initiatives.
In Alicia as in 17 other Bohol towns, NGOs like the People’s Fair Trade Assistance Center (PFTAC) is empowering communities to sustain a water sanitation program when such could be turned over for community based management.
Organizing and dealing with people is a tough job, but I have to do it, said PFTAC Community organizer Felix Calabria.
The project runs after the community has identified their need and would commit to co-partner with the program implementers, at times putting up their own counter parts, PFTAC project supervisor Renato Renegado shared. That way, our community organizers should be here many times to meet the residents and refine the plans.
The identified project, water system development would cost about a million pesos, the biggest fund coming as financial assistance from the PACAP AusAid at P800T. LGUs Alicia and Untaga gave about P50T while the Untaga Multi-Purpose Cooperative led by Shirley Molina gave their labor and financiaf counterpart at P71T. PFTAC also put in P35T including supervisory and organizational skills.
First started in July of 2006, a year later and with a 21,000 liter reservoir atop a hill to ensure the gravitational push of the water to the waterwork’s 13 tapstands, now bringing the water is much safer and easier for our children, a consumer admitted.
Moreover, PROCESS’ Tony Boncales said the accessible tapstands assure that the children can still have enough time to play, study and for the parents to perform other productive activity.
During the official launching of the level-two-water system, PFTAC executive Director Engr. Vicente Locquellano said he wished the people could own the system as the only way the project could be sustained and maintained.
Now with a new water system to serve the residents of a portion of his barangay, Chairman Duyaguit said at least Untaga residents could now look at other concerns and perhaps do the more important things in life. (rachiu/PIA)
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