Quezon City--- In its continuing program to improve and expand the public access to safe potable water supply, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) has reported the completion of twenty-five water supply projects in as many provincial areas in the overall project cost of P560.2 million as of the end of June 2008.

LWUA Administrator Orlando C. Hondrade said the completed projects included the expansion of the water systems of Baguio City and Metro Iloilo costing P111.3 million and P207.6 million, respectively, new systems for the towns of Murcia, Negros Occidental and Mapandan, Pangasinan amounting to P17 million and P22.9 million accordingly and the rehabilitation of a few systems damaged by destructive typhoons in the Bicol region.

Other completed projects during the same period included those undertaken in Marilao (P37 M) and Angat (P2.4M) both in Bulacan; Moncada, Tarlac (P5.5M); San Fernando City (P26,6M), Lubao (P5M), Macabebe (P10 M) and Masantol (P10M), all in Pampanga; Legazpi City (P6.5 M), Camalig (P3M) and Ligao-Oas (P4M), all in Albay; Nabua, Camarines Sur (P1.6M) and Aroroy, Masbate (P5M);

Maasin, Southern Leyte (P27.2M); Duenas (P1.6M), Ajuy (P1M) and Numancia (P0.5M), all in Iloilo; Ipil-Titay, Zamboanga del Sur (P38M); Kolambugan (P5M), Tubod-Baroy (P4M) and Bacolod (P3.5M), all in Lanao del Norte; and Isabela City, Basilan (P3.8M) which is part of PGMA's Humanitarian Offensive Program for the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration through the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan has set the goal of providing safe and potable water supply to all barangays in the country by 2010 with priority on at least 200 waterless urban barangays in Metro Manila and 200 waterless municipalities in the countryside.

Premised on availability of adequate funds, LWUA's share in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan includes the completion of 585 water infrastructure projects within a seven-year period starting in 2004 thereby making possible access to safe potable piped water supply to 615,000 additional service connections or a total of more than three million additional Filipinos in the provincial areas by 2010.

As of December 2007, LWUA has already completed a total of 238 water infrastructure projects with a total project disbursement of P6.7 Billion.

LWUA targets the completion of 61 level three water projects this year; 54 more projects in 2009 and another 54 projects in 2010 that will also include projects for waterless communities covered by water districts in coordination with other government agencies such as the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC). By year 2010, the total cumulative population directly served under the LWUA-water district jurisdiction is estimated to increase to 15.3 million from 12.6 million in 2004.

c July15, 2008