THE Embassy of Japan, led by Charge d’Affaires Masahiro Nakata, conducted the ceremonial handover of two Level-II water systems in Barangays Looy and Rifao in Upi, Maguindanao on June 21 and 22.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s Environment, Natural Resources and Energy Senior Minister Abdulraof Abdul Macacua, Labor and Employment Minister Romeo K. Sema, Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) Affairs Minister Melanio Umbit Ulama, Upi Mayor Ramon Piang, and Bangsamoro Development Agency’s Executive Director Windel Diangcalan witnessed the launch. Both Nakata and International Labour Organization (ILO) Country Director Khalid Hassan delivered their messages online.
The first Level-II water system launched on June 21 is in Barangay Looy, South Upi. Occupied mostly by IPs—particularly, the Tedurays, the village relies heavily on shallow or dug wells, rivers and rain for its water and sanitation needs. More than 500 households and around 900 school children will benefit from the water infrastructure in the said locale.
In Barangay Rifao, a similar water system consisting of eight tap stands that will serve 80 households and 425 school children was handed over on June 22. Forty-five Teduray workers were contracted to work on the facilities. The barangay—mostly inhabited also by the said IPs—now has access to safe and reliable water.
Using a local resource-based approach in generating employment during these times challenged by a health crisis, men and women in the community were engaged in the construction work. For their protection, occupational safety and health protocols in the light of the pandemic were implemented. Moreover, the workers were trained on the operations and maintenance of the water system to ensure ownership and sustainability of the project.
According to the embassy, the initiative was under the ILO-Japan Water and Sanitation Project in the Bangsamoro Region signed on March 6, 2019. The ILO intervention envisions developing water infrastructures that will benefit an estimated 11,814 households in the Bangsamoro Region. Around 2,463 informal sector workers in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Cotabato City and 63 barangays in North Cotabato will be provided emergency employment with social protection.
Ensuring the safety and health of workers, hand-washing facilities were established in the work sites, as pandemic-responsive occupational safety and health protocols were in-place. While the overall goal of the project is peace and development in Mindanao, it will also contribute toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation, as well as Goal 8 on decent work and economic growth.
Since 1974 Japan has maintained a longstanding cooperation with the ILO. The said country has supported a number of ILO projects on disaster response, sustainable livelihood, peace and security, as well as local economic development, among others, in the Philippines.
