Beyond the lead: Providing clean water and sanitation for PH

CNN Philippines

Government data shows more than 12 million Filipinos still have no access to clean water. How is life without a direct access to piped water supply?  Here's our senior correspondent Gerg Cahiles with the first part of his special report.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:08 56-year-old Lorna Masangkay goes through the daily burdensome task

00:12 of transporting a cartload of containers early in the morning

00:16 to a spring in Barangay Tilihan, Pola, Oriental Mindoro.

00:20 The community's water source for the longest time

00:24 for bathing, cooking, and washing clothes.

00:27 [Spray]

00:28 The spring is also a source of drinking water

00:31 with a piece of cloth to filter sediments

00:34 and other impurities visible to the naked eye.

00:36 [Speaking in Tagalog]

00:51 Lorna pushes the cart, now heavier with containers filled with water,

00:55 back home through hundreds of meters of uphill and downhill terrain.

00:59 The routine repeats tomorrow,

01:01 as has been for Lorna for the past five decades.

01:05 [Music]

01:10 In the mountainous Barangay Putingkakaw,

01:12 people rely on the river and spring for water supply.

01:15 Amelia Vargas is thankful that the river is clear today.

01:19 It is usually muddy during the wet season.

01:22 [Speaking in Tagalog]

01:32 [Music]

01:38 We're now going to Barangay Buhay na Tubig,

01:40 which is roughly 20 to 25 minutes away from Pola Town proper.

01:44 We were informed that the access to clean water there

01:48 became more challenging to residents,

01:50 especially after the area was affected by the oil spill.

01:54 [Music]

01:59 Stones by the shore with traces of hardened oil

02:02 are a grim reminder of the massive oil spill.

02:05 Because of the oil that came from the sunken MV Princess Empress in March,

02:09 authorities have prohibited residents from using these pitcher pumps

02:14 to get water for fear of contamination.

02:16 [Speaking in Tagalog]

02:28 They also gather drinking water from the source.

02:31 The residents believe water from this pitcher pump is safe.

02:35 [Speaking in Tagalog]

02:47 [Speaking in Tagalog]

02:56 The local government of Pola says only one in ten households in the town

03:00 has piped water supply,

03:02 a far cry from official data that nine in ten Filipinos have access to clean water.

03:07 [Speaking in Tagalog]

03:18 Based on the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plan

03:21 prepared by the National Economic Development Authority, or NEDA, in 2019,

03:25 the government targeted to provide access to clean water to 95% of Filipinos in 2022 and 100% by 2030.

03:34 But President Bongbong Marcos himself has admitted

03:37 12 million Filipinos remain without clean and safe water.

03:41 George Cahilix, CNN Philippines.

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