BORACAY Island Water Co. Inc. (BIWCI), a subsidiary of Manila Water Co. Inc. and a concessionaire of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (Tieza) recently completed a project that aimed to provide sustainable water to low-income households.
The project in Sitio Balinghai, Barangay Yapak in Boracay Island, was launched by BIWCI together with the Barangay Yapak Council and residents of Sitio Balinghai.
Sitio Balinghai is one of the areas of Barangay Yapak that had issues with water access due to right-of-way disputes. However, when the Municipal Planning and Development Council and Barangay Yapak led a project of building new road access in Sitio Balinghai last year, BIWCI took the opportunity to implement the project, laying a 63 millimeter with 700 meters of water lines to give access to 24/7 safe, clean, and potable water to 120 households in Sitio Balinghai. The project, which costs P1.4 million, started last December.
Barangay Yapak Chairman Hector Casidsid said residents who will benefit from the project are delighted to have access to clean and potable water supply 24/7.
“Water access has been difficult for the residents of the remote parts of our barangay due to land disputes. Some of them have to extend their water lines from their location to the water network on the main road, which is costly. With [BIWCI] extending their water lines to these areas, access to quality water supply is now easier and can be enjoyed 24/7,” Casidsid added.
In 2013, BIWCI also led a project in Sitio Lapus Lapus in Barangay Yapak, providing water access for 20 households, and in Sitio Pinaungon, Barangay Balabag in 2014 where 90 households benefitted. More projects were done in Boracay Island with the help of the Manila Water Foundation through the World Bank’s “Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid,” or “Gpoba.”