Access to water makes life sweeter

Earlier this year there was an active debate about the EU’s development assistance in the Philippines. It made me reflect on the past, what has the EU been doing in the Philippines, what were the objectives and what has been achieved? We have had a development agenda in the country for more than 30 years, worked with six different presidents and spent more than € 1 billion (equivalent to more than P59.20 billion)  in the country. The agenda we have had and still have is a broad development agenda (poverty alleviation, environment and sustainable development are the key words). Our support is largely independent of the political orientation of the government, why? Because it is focused on the beneficiaries in the country: the poor and the ones in need.  That is where the bulk of the assistance has been focused. Often the EU assistance is right there in front of people but it is nonetheless unnoticed. One reason is of course that the assistance is not there to score political points but is offered because on underlying development needs and not by a narrow political agenda. Water in Manila is one example of the EU’s development agenda.

In 2007, the European Investment Bank (EIB) provided € 60 million to Manila Water for the expansion and improvement of water source and water distribution projects in the East Zone of Manila. The EIB is the European Union’s (EU) non-profit long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. It is a publicly owned international financial institution and its shareholders are the EU member states. It is a “policy-driven bank” and is the world’s largest lender to the global water sector to date, with some EUR 4 billion provided to finance water-related projects in 2015 alone.

The EU’s investment to the EIB’s priority on water security for economic growth and its ardent support to a number of works included in the Manila Water’s investment program for the period 2007-2010 attested to the EU Delegation’s firm belief that this move would positively impact on the social and environmental conditions of the Filipinos living in the metropolis some years onward.

Prior to EIB’s assistance, Metro Manila’s water supply and distribution were in disarray. Illegal connections were a common practice. Access to clean and potable water was a privilege. Poor families’ had to pay from their meager income a steep price for this basic right and survive the daily grind.

Maribel Aglipay, a long resident of Project 7 in Quezon City recounted life back in the early 2000s: “When we had the house refurbished in 2002, we built giant water storage areas and installed a giant water tank in the mezzanine. Both are no longer used now. Our neighbors then would have no water for two whole days, but we had enough to sustain our daily needs. We really needed to hoard water.”

According to Manila Water, loans from financial institutions as in the case of its project with the EIB, facilitated better access to safe water services of additional households in the metropolis. Manila Water report claimed an improved 24-hour potable water supply coverage from 26 % in 1997 to 99 % in 2014, doubling the number of customers from 3.1 million to over 6.3 million in 2014. There had been an expansion of water mains and distribution lines with over 5,000 kilometers of pipes, replacing nearly 90 % of the water network. There had been a dramatic reduction of water losses from 63 % in 1997 to 11 % in 2014 and an increase in the volume of water delivered to customers from 440 million liters to over 1.2 billion liters per day. Moreover, there had been a 100 % compliance to the water quality standards set by the Department of Health and the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water.

Meanwhile, the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Institute (SAIDI) in Antipolo also attested to how it was before the water system was upgraded in that hilly city of Rizal. “Prior to the upgrade, the SAIDI had to draw out water from its deep well to supply its surrounding community. But when Manila Water started distributing water, everybody happy na,” recounted Dr. Rose Fuentes, President of the institution. “It is pertinent to be there for the community when one is needed because when an assisted community gets to be inspired and empowered to do good for others, it’s easy to mobilize and engage it for the greater good. That has always been the case with the SAIDI,” Dr. Rose observed.

It was in 2009, during the Typhoon Ondoy disaster when Manila Water saw for itself what it means to mobilize the community. Manila Water and its community partners were able to save lives by providing assistance particularly potable water, to the victims. This experience paved way for its flagship program called. “Tubig Para sa Barangay” (Water for Low-Income Communities) which provided quality water to low-income communities at very affordable rates.

In ways like this, the EU Delegation to the Philippines and the EU has for decades supported the development of basic services in the Philippines. The support and the effect of the support is often forgotten or ignored, but that is less important for us.  The important aspect is the support succeeded in helping people that were in need of assistance.

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(Franz Jessen is the Ambassador of the European Union.)