WATER SHORTAGE. Almost a month now, residence of Barangay Rizal in Oas town in Albay suffers water shortage. They need to put water into drums and pails just to save water from deep well. (PNA photo By Connie Calipay)
OAS, Albay -- Thousands of residents in three villages here are complaining of the water shortage they have been experiencing for almost a month now.
Norie Ann Carmona, a 40-year-old from Barangay Rizal, said a single drop of water from the faucet is already like gold and should not be wasted.
"Ok lang mawalan ng kuryente, wag lang tubig. Kami dito, mag-i-isang buwan na walang tubig. Kaya hirap na hirap talaga (A brownout would be better than not having water. We’ve been without water for almost a month now. That is why it is so difficult)," she told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
In an interview, Carmona said this is the first time she has experienced water shortage.
“Pasakit talaga to sa amin, sa pang araw-araw na pagluto, pagligo at sa pagkain namin. Idagdag pa ang gastos namin sa pagbili ng tubig. (This is really an additional burden for us, especially in our daily chores -- cooking, bathing – not to mention the additional expenses),” she said.
Carmona noted that her PHP298 water bill per month has increased to PHP380 per day.
"I hope this water shortage comes to an end. We deserve water, too,” she said.
Nida Bayona, 55, has the same problem. Bayona complained that her husband has suffered stomach pain and skin rashes because of deep well water.
“Sumakit ang tiyan niya tapos nag-tae na siya. Sumunod naman ako. May mga rashes na ako sa likod dahil sa tubig na ginagamit namin galing sa poso (He experienced stomach pains and diarrhea. I have rashes on my back because of the water from the well),” she said.
Rizal village chief, Crispin Sotto, acknowledged that the water shortage is affecting the entire barangay.
“We’re experiencing water scarcity -- not even a single drop (of water), mag-i-isang buwan na after eleksyon (almost a month now since election),” he said.
Sotto added that the water district did not give a concrete timeline. “They have not told us until when this would be,” he added.
He said the 270 households or 1,094 people under his constituency are suffering.
“They need to put water into drums and pails just to save water from deep well. Meron po mga Jetmatic na pinagkukunan, pero kailangan i-filter, kasi may amoy at hindi pwede gamitin sa pagluto, kaya bumibili pa din ng tubig sa ibang barangay (There is water coming from Jetmatic but it needs to be filtered because it smells and we can’t use it for cooking. Thus, we have to buy water from other barangays),” Sotto said.
As part of the LGU’s action, Oas Mayor Domingo Escoto, in a letter, requested the assistance of the Bureau of Fire Protection to temporarily provide water to the affected barangays of Rizal, Calzada, and Bongoran.
“Rationing to the respective barangays until the water supply is restored as per schedule: Barangay Rizal –Tuesday and Friday; Calzada -- Monday and Thursday; and for Bongoran --Wednesday and Saturday, all twice a day 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.; 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.,” the letter stated.
Meanwhile, in Calzada, village chief Edgar Relleve requested from the Ligao Water District at least three hours of water supply every day.
“I already requested Ligao Water District for at least three hours a day, but no response yet,” Relleve said, adding that the water shortage bothers him since no definite date has been given when the problem would be solved.
Carmona, Bayona, Sotto, and Relleve are all clients and members of the Ligao City Water District.
Jorge Valencia, technical operation head of the Ligao City Water District, said in an interview on Thursday that the current water supply is very low compared to the demand.
"Sa ngayon, wala po talagang tubig. Sobrang init po ang nakikita natin rason kung bakit walang tubig (There is really no water supply at present. We see the extreme heat as the reason for the water shortage),” Valencia said.
He added that the El Niño has greatly contributed to the water shortage the residents have been experiencing.
“Almost 30 percent of our supply ang nawala (is gone) because of too much heat and we are continuously conducting monitoring, and pipe lining (among others),” he added.
Valencia did not give a fixed date when the water would return since they don’t want to give the affected barangays false hope. (PNA)
