ILOILO City – For two months now, the Iloilo City Government’s free water distribution dubbed “Oplan Bulig Tubig sa Syudad” (BTS) continues to serve its constituents.
For the residents, the immediate response of the city government to address water scarcity due to the El Niño phenomenon has brought them big relief.
They were thankful for the help extended to cushion the impact and inconvenience of the dry season.
“Nagapasalamat gid kami sa libre nga tubig nga gin hatag sang aton city government kag sa aton nga mapinalanggaon kag mapisan nga mayor, nga si Mayor Jerry Treñas. Kag sa amon nga barangay, dako gid nga pasalamat tungod nakabulig gid kag nakabenipisyo ang amon mga pumuluyo,” said Barangay Kagawad Anatalie John Villacorte of Barangay Jalandoni Estate, Lapuz.
Villacorte shared that when their water sources started to deplete because of the drought, it had been a struggle for every household where to get water.
So when they learned about Oplan BTS, their barangay council discussed and created a scheme so the delivered free water could reach those who needed it.
Jennifer Ravela of Barangay Mansaya also shared the same sentiment that was eventually addressed by free water from the city government.
“Indi ka katig-ang, indi ka kapanghugas pinggan,kag indi ka kapaligo. Gani nagapasalamat gid kami sa aton pinalangga nga mayor, Jerry P. Treñas kag Raisa Treñas, sa padala sang libre nga tubig adlaw-adlaw,” said Ravela.
So far, the city government has already delivered and distributed over 11 million liters of water to thousands of households in the city affected by water scarcity.
For 60 days now, over 102 barangays have already been served by the free water delivery.
“Though we are now experiencing rain, we are not yet out of the woods. Some residents still need potable water so we continue to deliver to the barangays until their situation improves,” said General Services Office head Engr. Neil Ravena.
The state of calamity declaration due to water shortage has not yet been lifted since the City Council’s approval on April 22.
To address the problem, the city utilized over P12.5 million from the Quick Response Fund to buy and distribute water.
The free water rationing of the city is on top of the ongoing water distribution donated by Flo Water Resources Inc. and Bombo Radyo Foundation Inc., in partnership with Iloilo City Fire Station, and volunteer groups such as ICAG and Federation Fire Iloilo that bring the water to the barangays.
The mayor earlier expressed his concern regarding the water crisis faced by the city.
He emphasized that the city needs more water supply given its rapid economic and population growth.
Relative to this, he met with Metro Iloilo Water District and Metro Pacific Iloilo Water, the city’s biggest water supplier, as well as other water stakeholders like South Balibago Water and Flo Water Resources, to discuss the city’s current concerns about supply and explore potential solutions to address the pressing issue.
“We are exploring possible solutions to expand and add more water in different barangays to ensure it is accessible to all the Ilonggos. Water supply has been a consistent problem. Thus, I encourage different stakeholders to help each other, and I am committed to supporting them,” the mayor emphasized./PN
