HOW MANY BARANGAYS STILL DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER?

HOW MANY BARANGAYS STILL DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER?

We have heard the terms homeless and jobless being used quite often, but not so much the term “waterless.” Perhaps we should start using it more, because a family without access to safe drinking water is, for all practical purposes, a family without water.

With a little sarcasm, some people might say that water is everywhere. True enough—but tell that to someone surrounded by floodwater that cannot be safely drunk. Water may be everywhere, but there may not be a drop to drink.

So how many of our barangays are actually “waterless”?

The Commission on Audit provides an important answer, although it also exposes a problem. Under the SALINTUBIG program, 1,353 waterless barangays and 455 waterless municipalities were originally identified. DILG reported that 1,123 barangays and 340 municipalities had graduated from waterless status, leaving approximately 230 barangays and 115 municipalities on the original list. But COA also noted that there is no updated centralized database, making it difficult to know the current number.

I honestly suspect the real number is higher.

And what exactly are we monitoring? Is water merely available, or is it actually safe to drink? Who tests it? Who certifies it? How frequently is testing conducted? And where can ordinary citizens see the results?

This is where SAFEWATRS gives us something to be hopeful about.

Developed by DOST-ITDI, the compact solar-powered system can produce up to 2,000 liters of potable water in nine hours. DOST says it can process rainwater, spring water and turbid lake water, with treated water conforming to the mandatory parameters of the 2017 Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.

And it is no longer merely an experiment. SAFEWATRS has already been deployed in several communities, including Barangay Budiong in Odiongan, Romblon, where DOST turned over a unit in June 2026. 

Now here is my suggestion: let us scale it up.

But first, let us establish one authoritative national database identifying every barangay that lacks safe and reliable drinking water. Then let us prioritize those communities for appropriate water technologies—including SAFEWATRS.

I am particularly interested in the possibility of using it in coastal communities where saltwater intrusion is becoming a bigger problem. DOST itself says the technology can process saltwater, while its continuing research includes a solar-powered standalone desalination system integrated with SAFEWATRS and reverse-osmosis technology. 

This is exactly the kind of science I want from DOST: science that directly solves the problems of ordinary Filipinos, especially the poor.

And if SAFEWATRS proves scalable, affordable and reliable, why should we stop at our own barangays?

Why not eventually make it part of FILAID—Filipino Foreign Aid?

We have spent generations receiving foreign aid. Perhaps someday, we can also become a country that gives practical science to the developing world.

That would be something worth drinking up to.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres  iseneres@yahoo.com  senseneres.blogspot.com  09088877282/08-24-2027