1,103 residents benefited SALINTUBIG program
By Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa
KITCHARAO, Agusan del Norte, Oct. 12 (PIA) - The
one thousand and one hundred three (1,103) residents of Barangay Sangay in the
Municipality of Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte have now access to sufficient water
supply after being granted a potable water system project of the Sagana at
Ligtas na Tubig Para sa Lahat, known as the SALINTUBIG program of the
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region 13 (CARAGA)
through the government’s initiated program – Grassroots Participatory Budgeting
process with a budgetary cost of P900,000.00.
The “Improvement of Sangay Potable Water System
in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte” has been the ultimate answer to the endemic
problem of water inadequacy in the barangay. Through the Grassroots
Participatory Budgeting (GPB) process, formerly known as Bottom-up Budgeting
(BuB), the Water Project was identified and prioritized through the active participation
of peoples’ representatives and the endorsement of the Civil Society
Organization (CSOs) since the residents of Brgy. Sangay has long been deprived
of sufficient access to safe and potable water. The Local Government Unit of
Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte provided a counterpart worth Php100,000.00, making
the total project cost into P1 Million that caters 220 households in the
barangay.
“Overflowing with joy and gratitude, we would
like to express our deepest thanks to the government for answering the need
that we have long been asking for. We thought the government has closed its
doors on us, but we are wrong. Through the GPB, we went through the process and
now we are heard. It is very satisfying.” (“Dako kayo ang among kalipay ug
pagpasalamat sa gobyerno sa pagtubag sa among dugay na nga gipanagayu. Abi namo
nga gitalikdan na kami sa gobyerno pero nasayup kami. Mahitungod sa GPB, kami
ning sunod sa proseso para mahatagan ug proyekto ug nadunggan gajud kami. Kami
nahimutang na.”) These were the words of Punong Barangay Bartolome Abejero, Sr.
Hygiene and sanitation in the barangay has
improved since the operation of the water system. In fact, diarrhea and other
related water borne diseases which are very rampant in the area mostly
affecting school-age children have considerably dropped. The most noted
positive change was the immediate relief of the residents in fetching gallons
of water from the very distant water source.
Consistent with the Millennium development Goal
(MDG) No. 7, which is to reduce by 50% of the world’s population without access
to safe and potable water, the Government has committed to provide water to all
Filipinos, particularly for the poor and waterless communities. Through the GPB
and pipelined through the SALINTUBIG Program of the DILG, many waterless
communities have now access to safe and potable water. This is also in response
to the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2011-2016 which gives priority to
water and sanitation.
The 2013 Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig Para sa Lahat
(SALINTUBIG) is designed to grant financing and capacity development programs
for the implementation of water supply projects in waterless municipalities, in
poorest barangays with high level of waterborne diseases, in resettlement areas
and public health centers without access to safe water and in the BUPB priority
areas as contained in DBM-NPAC-DILG-DSWD Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series
of 2012 signed on November 12, 2012.
The DILG as the lead executing agency
responsible for the provision of grant financing for the implementation of water
projects, also enhances the capacity of the LGUs and water service providers to
plan, implement, manage and operate the water projects. (DILG-13/PIA-Caraga)
