MORE Filipinos, especially the poor, are buying mineral water or obtaining water from other sources due to lack of availability or cost, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Based on the 2017 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey, the PSA said 4 in 10 families, or 38.6 percent of households, have their drinking water obtained from water-refilling stations.
The PSA added that only 2 in 10 families (20.3 percent) have their drinking water piped into their dwelling, while 12 percent obtained their drinking water from tube wells or boreholes.
“Results show that there are some families who are unable to access sufficient quantities of drinking water either because it is not available from source [5.7 percent], water is too expensive [1.4 percent], or water source is not accessible [1.1 percent],” the PSA said.
Obtaining potable water from refilling stations are more common for the upper 70 percent of the population compared to the bottom 30 percent, or families belonging to the poorest three deciles.
For the poorest, their most common potable water sources are water-refilling stations at 17.6 percent of households; tube wells/boreholes, 17.2 percent; piped into their dwellings, 12.3 percent; and, piped into yards/plots, 10.2 percent.
For the upper 70 percent, water- refilling stations are their primary source with 47.5 percent households getting potable water from these establishments; piped into their dwellings, 23.7 percent; and 9.8 percent obtaining water from tube wells/boreholes.
Meanwhile, almost all, or 95 percent of Filipino families, have improved sources of drinking water. Improved water resources, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), are those that have potential to deliver safe water by nature of their design and construction.
Improved water resource classifications are being used in the Updates and Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) Baselines for 2017.
“Improved drinking water sources per WHO and Unicef include piped water into dwelling, piped into yard/plot or neighbor and public tap/stand pipe,” the PSA said. “It also includes non-piped drinking water sources like tube well/borehole; protected well and spring; rainwater; tanker truck/cart with small tank; water refilling station and bottled/sachet water.”
The PSA added that water from an improved source may still be unsafe for drinking due to handling contamination. Improved source, however, is different from safe source.
SDG Goal 6 targets to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. It aims to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030, among other targets.
The SDGs or Global Goals is a set of 17 socioeconomic goals that 193 United Nation member-countries like the Philippines committed to meet by 2030. The goals are composed of around 169 targets and over 300 global indicators. The SDGs were adopted in September 2015.