ENGAGING COMMUNITIES AND THE CITY …icleiseas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/ICLEI-REPORT-UP-Baguio... · 1 acccrn engagement building small grants fund engaging communities and

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ACCCRN Engagement Building Small Grants Fund

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES AND THE CITY GOVERNMENT

IN ADDRESSING WATER SECURITY, SANITATION,

AND URBAN RESILIENCE CHALLENGES IN BAGUIO CITY

November 2016

University of the Philippines College Baguio

Educational Foundation Inc.

Funded By: Thru:

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………9

PROBLEM STATEMENT………………………………………………………………………10

PROJECT GOALS……………………………………………………………………………...10

METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………………..10

DATA ANALYSIS………………………………………………………………………………..12

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION………………………………………………………………...12

A. Validation Activity cum Stakeholder Consultation………………………………13

B. Round Table Discussion (RTD) on Rainwater Harvesting

and Water Filtration……………………………………………………………14

C. Household Survey Results…………………………………………………………15

D. FGD Results………………………………………………………………………....23

E. Pilot Testing Water Filtration in a Poor Community……………………………..23

F. Development of IEC materials……………………………………………………..25

OVERALL CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………………………………….27

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………………………….29

WAY FORWARD…………………………………………………………………………………31

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………………………...32

ANNEXES………………………………………………………………………………………...35

Annex A: Documentation of Validation Workshop

cum Stakeholder Consultation……………………………………………..35

Annex B: Documentation of Round Table Discussion (RTD)

on Rainwater Harvesting and Water Filtration…………………………...41

Annex C: Documentation of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

on Implementing Water Quality Standard and

Regulating Water Extraction Activities……………………………………63

Annex D: Key Informant Interview with Physics Professor

Ian Jasper Agulo……………………………………………………………72

Annex E: Key Informant Interview with CEPMO Personnel…………………….…79

Annex F: DENR Interview and Data Gathering…………………………………..…80

Annex G: Interview with the Operator of an Informal Water

Distribution System………………………………………………………...94

Annex H: Key Informant Interview with the Treasurer of

the Irisan Water Cooperative…………………………………….………..97

Annex I: Copy of BWD Manager Royeca’s Letter

to UP Baguio Chancellor Rovillos……………………………….……….99

Annex J: Copy of City Ordinance on Rainwater Harvesting………………….…100

Annex K: Legal Aspects of Baguio’s Policies

on Water Extraction……………………………………………………....102

Annex L: Pilot Testing Water Filtration in Irisan…………………………………...109

Annex M: Water Sample Test Results……………………………………………..116

Annex N: IEC Materials………………………………………………………………124

Annex O: Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan’s Endorsement Letter…………...128

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LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figure 1. Geographical Distribution of Survey Respondents……………………………..12

Table 1. Key Water-Related Issues/Concerns According to Forum Participants ……….13

Table 2. Socio-Economic Characteristics of Household Head and Spouse……………..16

Table 3. Household Composition of Survey Respondents………………………………...17

Table 4. Distribution of Respondents According to BWD Connection

and Having a Shared BWD Line……………………………………………..18

Table 5. Various Uses of Spring Water, Dry vs. Rainy Season…………………………...20

Table 6. Various Uses of Rainwater…………………………………………………………..20

Table 7. Type of Toilet Owned/Used…………………………………………………………..21

Table 8. Sharing of Toilet Facilities with Other Households………………………………..22

Table 9: Uses of Recycled Water from Laundry……………………………………………..22

Table 10: Other Ways of Recycling Water……………………………………………………23

Table 11: Water Code vs. Environment Code………………………………………………106

Table 12: Water Test Results………….……………………………………………………...112

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ACRONYMS

4PS – Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

ABC - Association of Barangay Councils

ACCCRN - Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network

AFD - Administrative and Financial Division

AUSAID - Australian Agency for International Development

BAMPWR - Baguio Association of Mineral and Purified Water Refillers

BHD - Baguio Health Department

BWD - Baguio Water District

CAR - Cordillera Administrative Region

CBAO - City Buildings and Architecture Office

CDA - Cooperative and Development Authority

CEPMO - City Environment and Parks Management Office

CHSO - City Health Services Office

COA - Commission on Audit

CTO - City Treasurer’s Office

CWRB - City Water Resources Board

DENR - Department of Environment and Natural Resources

DOE - Department of Energy

DOH - Department of Health

DOST - Department of Science and Technology

DPWH - Public Works and Highways

DSWD - Department of Social Welfare and Development

DTI - Department of Trade and Industry

EMB - Environmental Management Bureau

ERDB - Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau

HSO - Health Services Office

ICLEI - SEAS - International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives -Southeast Asia

Secretariat

IIED - International Institute for Environment and Development

JICA - Japan International Cooperation Agency

JVOFI - Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation

KTRC - Knowledge and Training Resource Center

LGU - Local Government Unit

LWUA - Local Water Utilities Administration

NHTS - National Household Targeting System

NIA - National Irrigation Administration

NIGS - National Institute of Geological Sciences

NPC - National Power Corporation

NWRB - National Water Resources Board

NWRC - National Water Regulatory Council

PD - Presidential Decree

PEF - Peace and Equity Foundation

PLD - Permits and Licensing Division

PSA - Philippine Statistics Authority

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SEC - Securities and Exchange Commission

SWIM - Sustainable Water Integrated Management and Governance

TESDA - Technical Education and Skills Development Authority

UP - University of the Philippines

UP Baguio - University of the Philippines Baguio

UPCBEF - University of the Philippines College Baguio Educational Foundation

WAMD - Wastewater, Water and Ambient Air Management Division

WHO - World Health Organization (WHO)

WPA - Water Permit Application

WRD - Water Rights Division

WRUS - Water Resources Utilization Section

WWRRC - Watershed and Water Resources Research Center

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The University of the Philippines Baguio’s (UP Baguio) Asian Cities Climate Change

Resilience Network (ACCCRN)-funded project titled “Engaging Communities and the City

Government in Addressing Water Security, Sanitation, and Urban Resilience Challenges in

Baguio City” can be seen as a continuation of an earlier 2015 International Institute for

Environment and Development (IIED)-funded study dubbed “Towards Establishing Water

Security and Climate Change Resilience in the City of Baguio” (Ciencia et al., 2015). As

such, it builds on the accomplishments of the previous project, addresses some of its gaps

while sustaining the commitment to contribute to building a water-secure and resilient City of

Baguio. Consistent with ICLEI’s mandate of strengthening local governments to achieve

tangible improvements in the area of sustainability, this current water security study was

guided by the objective of helping improve the City government’s capacity to ensure water

security, sanitation, and urban resilience for its residents.

The Baguio water sector is composed of government and non-government entities supplying

water to the residents of Baguio City. Baguio Water District (BWD) is Baguio City’s local

water utility company whose task is “to provide adequate and potable water at affordable

rates to all consumers” (BWD, undated; Commission on Audit, 2012). It is a quasi-

government entity which currently supplies water to 122 out of 129 barangays in the city

(Royeca, 2015b). Water shortage is a fact of life in Baguio but the existence of enterprises

which operate water delivery services and purified water refilling stations has filled the gap

that BWD is unable to supply. Data from the Permits and Licensing Division (2014) of the

City of Baguio show that out of the 17,490 registered business firms in 2014, there were 38

water delivery services and 127 purified water refilling stations. These business

establishments form a significant portion of the market for domestic water serving the needs

of households without a BWD connection and those whose BWD water supply is

inadequate. BWD distributes water following a rotational schedule in its service area.

The demand side of the market for domestic water is composed of an estimated 345,000

Baguio residents, as of 2015 records of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the

growing education, business, and tourism sectors that Baguio is known for. As the only

highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), its population grew the

fastest at 1.54% per year over the 2010-2015 period much higher than the regional average

of 1.21% but lower than the national figure of 1.72%. As Baguio’s population continues to

grow over time, the demand for water services is expected to expand putting a strain on the

city’s meager water resources.

Baguio City needs to find innovative and effective ways of ensuring, among other things,

water access, water security, and sanitation for its residents and visitors. The present study

was impelled by the desire to bring together various Baguio-based stakeholders, particularly

local government officials, community leaders and residents, to assess and validate the

findings of the 2015 IIED study, and to provide the venue and occasion for stakeholders to

consider, explore, identify, formulate, and push for sound and informed community-based

solutions and policy recommendations aimed at improving water security and sanitation in

Baguio City. The project thus engaged stakeholders by organizing a series of activities - e.g.

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discussions, interviews, etc., on the subject matter of water security, sanitation and urban

resilience whereby officials of pertinent local government offices and agencies, expert

informants, and Baguio City residents are offered the opportunity to report on the water

security and sanitation situation in the city and to provide inputs aimed at addressing

identified related challenges.

The members of the research team, most of whom are academics and long-time Baguio

residents, basically saw themselves as partners of the local government and city residents in

finding sound and informed solutions to these challenges. Acknowledging that, on the one

hand, the local government possesses the mandate and capacity to enforce policies while

city residents, on the other hand, are potential sources of support and, ultimately, the

receptors of adaptive strategies, the research team members saw that their primary task was

to encourage science-informed, coordinated and environmentally-conscious policy-making,

policy implementation, and advocacy, including awareness raising. The research project,

specifically in relation to urban resilience and water security, sought to instill among activity

participants and respondents the idea that water security in an urban setting is a vital and

core component of resilience for city dwellers (considering water’s essential role in human

survival). Moreover, in view of the number of government agencies and their interconnected

and/or seemingly overlapping functions, the research team also attempted to draw attention

to the need for greater coordination among agencies and for a more focused

environmentally-conscious implementation of policies.

To assist the City Government of Baguio on the issues of water security and urban

resilience, the study offered a list of policy recommendations, particularly in the areas of (a)

promoting rain water harvesting and water purification, (b) improving the implementation of

water quality and safety standards; (c) enhancing the regulation of water extraction activities

in the City, and (d) strengthening the provisions of Baguio City’s Water Code. To lend

support to the list of policy recommendations, the project provided documentation of the

consultation activities – e.g., round table discussions (RTDs), focus group discussions

(FGDs), key informant interviews (KIIs), etc. were conducted and provided the sources for

the study’s policy recommendations.

The study also obtained data through the conduct of a survey on water consumption,

utilization, and adaptive behaviors of selected Baguio City residents, particularly the poor

during the rainy season. A total of 300 respondents from poor households were sampled

from the list identified as “poor” by the National Household Targeting System of the

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Data on water-related practices of

Baguio City’s poor residents were lacking in the previous study; the new ACCCRN-funded

study thus addressed this data gap.

In addition, the study developed information, education, and communication (IEC) materials

in the form of posters and stickers on rainwater harvesting, water filtration, and safeguarding

water quality with the objective of promoting resilient water consumption and utilization

behaviors among Baguio residents. For Baguio residents to engage in resilient water-

consumption and utilization behaviors, it is quite imperative that their actions are guided by

scientific information; hence, the need to develop and disseminate pertinent IEC materials.

The study’s key deliverables are as follows:

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(a) publication documenting the conduct of the data presentation and validation activity,

including the comments and questions of participants and the responses of the

researchers;

(b) survey results on the water consumption and utilization behaviors of selected Baguio

City’s poor households;

(c) list of water security-related policy recommendations for key Baguio City officials and

relevant stakeholders to consider; and

(d) IEC materials on rain water harvesting, water purification, and ensuring water quality

in Baguio City.

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I. INTRODUCTION

With a land area of around 57.5 square kilometers, Baguio is a small mountainous city

located at about 250 kilometers north of Metro Manila. Regarded as the “Summer Capital” of

the Philippines, it is a major tourist destination for foreign and local visitors especially during

the months of March, April, and May. Housing a number of universities and colleges, it is an

educational hub in northern Luzon.

The city’s water supply comes from four (4) sources, namely: springs, wells, surface

diversions, and a rain basin (Estoque and Maruyama, 2013:248). Managing a relatively

extensive water production and distribution system that consists of 65 pumping stations, 57

deep wells, five (5) spring sources and an estimated 182 kilometers of pipelines (Royeca,

2015b), the BWD in 2015 produced on the average 34,790 cubic meters of water per day

(CMD), which was about 86% of the forecasted demand of 40,230 CMD (Royeca, 2016).

Apart from the challenge of meeting Baguio residents’ demand for water, the BWD is also

plagued by problems involving “illegal connections, leakages, water meter inefficiencies,

pipeline age, and pilferage.” The BWD nonetheless reported a gradual reduction in non-

revenue water from 30.38% in January 2014 to 29.29% in December 2014 (Royeca, 2016).

With Baguio City’s population expected to expand further in the coming years, its local

government needs to find and devise innovative and effective ways of ensuring, among

other things, water access, water security, and sanitation for its residents and visitors. UP

Baguio's recently completed IIED-funded study titled “Towards Establishing Water Security

and Climate Change Resilience in the City of Baguio” (Ciencia et al., 2015) offers baseline

information on the basis of which relevant policy recommendations aimed at addressing

water security issues have been advanced for Baguio City's stakeholders, particularly local

government officials and community leaders and residents, to consider. From a research

perspective, the UP Baguio study was quite significant for it offers the most updated and rich

information on water insecurity as experienced in the entire City of Baguio. From a policy

and action perspective, however, the study still has to draw the attention of policymakers,

policy implementers, and stakeholders as an initial step for it to contribute to finding solutions

to Baguio City's water insecurity and sanitation problems.

With support from the ICLEI-Southeast Asia Secretariat through the Asian Cities Climate

Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) Engagement Building grants facility, UP Baguio

implemented what can be regarded as the ‘second policy-oriented phase’ of a water security

study in Baguio City. Unlike its predecessor, this study was conducted with the conscious

attempt to formulate policy recommendations that will be submitted to the local government

of Baguio to enhance and improve the city’s water security, sanitation, and resilience. This

document presents a narrative account of study’s accomplishments conducted from

December 2015 to August 2016.

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II. Problem Statement

The project sought to address the problem: What policy recommendations can be forwarded

to the local government of Baguio and relevant stakeholders with the primary objective of

enhancing water security, sanitation, and urban resilience in the area?

III. Project Goals

The project aimed to:

validate the findings of the previous water security study as starting point for the

conduct of a new LGU-centered water security study

conduct a survey focusing on the water consumption behaviors of Baguio’s selected

poor households,

formulate of a list of water security-related policy recommendations

process document consultation activities with stakeholders, and

develop pertinent IEC materials on rainwater harvesting, water purification, and

ensuring water quality in Baguio City

IV. Methodology

The study required the conduct of a variety of data-gathering activities. These include:

A. Validation Workshop cum Stakeholder Consultation. Held at UP Baguio’s

College of Social Sciences Audio-Visual Room (CSS-AVR) on 11 December 2015,

the workshop provided the venue for stakeholders to ‘validate’ and to comment on

the findings of the first water security (IIED) study completed in 2015 (see Annex A).

B. Roundtable Discussion. A roundtable discussion (RTD) was held on 28 March

2016 to discuss rainwater harvesting practices and current technologies on water

filtration. The objective of the RTD was to arrive at collectively-identified and

collectively-formulated policy recommendations on the subject matter of rainwater

harvesting and water filtration for the consideration of key officials and bodies of the

local government unit of Baguio City. This was held at the Knowledge and Training

Resource Center (KTRC) of UP Baguio (see Annex B).

C. Focus Group Discussions. One FGD was conducted focusing on improving the

implementation of water quality standards. Another was on enhancing the capacity of

local offices to regulate water extraction activities and protect water resources in

Baguio City. The objective of the FGDs was to draw policy recommendations vis-à-

vis the regulation of water extraction activities and the protection of water resources

in the city from participants. The first FGD was conducted in the morning while the

second was conducted in the afternoon of 7 July 2016 at the Knowledge Training and

Resources Center (KTRC) of UP Baguio (see Annex C).

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D. Key Informant Interviews. A number of key informant interviews (KIIs) were

conducted. These included interviews with a natural scientist on the matter of water

quality; with government personnel on the responsibilities and functions of the

CEPMO and the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) vis-a-vis water

resources; with the custodian of a spring water source who operates an informal

neighborhood water distribution system in Irisan, Baguio City; and, with the treasurer

of the Irisan Water Cooperative.

The overall objective of the KIIs was to extract crucial information from experts and

knowledgeable respondents who can contribute to the formulation of sound policy or

community-based recommendations. Annexes D to H contain the documentation of

the interviews and other relevant data.

E. Household Survey. A survey of selected households was conducted from July 3 to

12, 2016 in order to understand water access and water utilization by poor

households in Baguio City. To obtain data on water consumption and sanitation

issues, as experienced particularly by poor Baguio residents, during the rainy

season.

In the survey, the poor are defined as those who qualify under the Pantawid

Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).1 Using the National Household Targeting System

for Poverty Reduction or Listahan of DSWD dated July 2010, the top barangays with

the most number of grantees were first identified in order to determine the areas

where the poor households converge. The top nine (9) barangays were then chosen

as survey sites as these accounted for 54% of 4Ps beneficiaries. A random sample

of 4Ps beneficiaries from each barangay was selected next following the “population

proportionate to size”2 principle. A total of 300 respondents were interviewed who

were either the registered 4Ps member or his/her spouse. The distribution of

respondents by barangay is shown in Figure 1.

1The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program as the conditional cash transfer program of the Philippine government

aimed to alleviate poverty through cash grants to the poorest of the poor Filipino households conditional on their meeting specific educational (i.e., school attendance) and health outcomes (i.e., immunization, pre-natal checkups, etc.). The program is administered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Household beneficiaries are identified through the National Household Targeting System (NHTS) that uses means testing. Some households in the NHTS list are beneficiaries of a monthly pension for indigent senior citizens. 2The share of each barangay to the total sample depends on its percentage share in the narrowed down- NHTS

List covering the top nine barangays only.

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Figure 1. Geographical Distribution of Survey Respondents

V. Data Analysis

Survey, key informant interviews, round table discussion, focus group discussions, and

the pilot test for water filtration were conducted to (a) obtain data on the city

government's policies on rainwater harvesting, maintaining water quality standards,

regulating water extraction activities, and the protection of the city's water resources; (b)

identify gaps in the implementation of these policies; and, (c) generate recommendations

for policy changes which later on will be forwarded to city officials.

The data obtained were cross-checked and analyzed to answer the key questions of the

project. Again, the data gathered were used as basis for the recommendations to

improve the implementation of policies and procedures for safeguarding water quality,

assessing the adoption of rainwater harvesting practices by households compared to

larger organizations, and to understand how to implement better the procedure for the

grant of water permits.

VI. Results and Discussion

This section discusses the results and corresponding analyses of significant project

activities.

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A. Validation Activity cum Stakeholder Consultation. This study was officially

launched last 11 December 2015 through a validation activity cum stakeholder

consultation attended by Baguio-based stakeholders and a representative of

ICLEI-Southeast Asia Secretariat. Findings and documentation of the validation

activity are packaged in a printed document titled “The Baguio Water Access and

Security Forum.” Some of the participants’ key comments during the activity

were:

o Professor Ofelia Giron (UP Baguio): “How sure are we that the City is

able to implement the requirement for water permits? I’m a little

concerned over the incidence of subsidence since there are a lot of

households who have water pumps or deep wells and we may never

know that our grounds have already sunk.”

o Ms. Cordelia Lacsamana (Head, Baguio City Environment and Parks

Management Office): The current policy is that only the National Water

Resources Board (NWRB) has the power to grant water permits. In

drafting its Water Code, Baguio City sought the decentralization of this

power considering that the NWRB cannot properly monitor the use of

water permits nation-wide and local governments are in a better position

to exercise this power. In short, the critical issue in water security is still

how to establish a framework for better regulation of water permit

issuances to residential, commercial and public establishments.

o Dr. Donnabel Tubera (Baguio City Health Services Office): The

practice and promotion of rainwater harvesting must also take into

account its possible health impacts. Dengue-causing mosquito, for

instance, thrives on clean, clear, and stagnant water. Rainwater

harvesting can lead to a spike in cases of dengue and other mosquito-

borne diseases.

During the forum, 18 participants were asked to rate the relative importance of a

number of pre-determined issues identified from the previous study on water

security (see table below).

Table 1. Key Water-Related Issues/Concerns According to Forum Participants

Issues/Concerns Not

important

Somewhat

important Important

Very

important

The occurrence of water-borne or water-

caused diseases. 0 0 3 14

Installing a rainwater harvesting system

1 2 1 14

Connection to the city’s sewage system

1 1 4 12

Access of poor households to water

supply. 0 0 5 12

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Regulating private extraction of water from

deep wells. 2 0 2 12

Access to a water refilling station

2 4 2 9

Price of water at refilling station

2 2 3 9

Price of water from water delivery services

1 1 6 8

The price of BWD water services

1 1 8 8

Availability of a water purification system for

the individual household 0 1 9 8

Identify any other water-related issues

0 0 2 4

It is worth mentioning at this point that the Baguio Water District (BWD), in a letter

dated 13 July 2016 (see Annex I), sought to correct some inaccuracies in the

findings of UP Baguio’s first study. Among the most notable ‘corrections’

mentioned by the BWD in its letter were the following:

The forecasted demand in 2015 is 40,230 cubic meters (cu m) per day

(CMD) and the average production of the BWD in 2015 is 34,790 cu m

translated to about 86% of the demand being satisfied by the BWD. The

original statement in the forum documentation was “at present, only

around 60% of Baguio’s water demand is met by the BWD’s supply of

water.”

The BWD aims to serve 100% of Baguio households in 2020 as part of

its long term plan and mandate. The original statement in the forum

documentation was “the BWD claims that 100% of Baguio households

will be served by 2020.”

B. Round Table Discussion (RTD) on Rainwater Harvesting and Water

Filtration. An RTD on rainwater harvesting and water filtration was held on 28

March 2016 attended by 13 participants. The RTD resulted in the following

findings (see Annex B for the RTD transcript and list of participants):

The city’s current ordinance, i.e. the Baguio Water Code, requiring the

inclusion of rainwater harvesting structures is being implemented for over

a year now, particularly in the case of commercial, especially high-rise,

buildings. (To read the exact provision on rainwater harvesting, see

Annex J).

Water catchments are currently being built for the Baguio City Hall to

collect water to water plants at Burnham Park.

There are noteworthy problems in the issuance of occupancy permits. The

requirement that water catchments are implemented in new buildings is

supposed to be ‘checked’ by the City Environment and Parks

Management Office (CEPMO) when the occupancy permit is issued.

However, the said occupancy permit is issued by the City Buildings and

Architecture Office (CBAO) and does not require the input of CEPMO.

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The City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) does not really check

whether or not water catchments are actually constructed.

The construction of water catchments unsurprisingly raises the costs of

building construction - and hence, we can expect owners of new buildings

not to comply.

A variety of water filtration technologies exists. The participants expressed

their preference for the variety that does not require electricity to operate it

as this is more cost-efficient

Most of the available technologies are applicable to institutions, instead of

households, especially when one considers the costs of adopting them

Water quality regulation in the city operates on an “honesty” basis. The

Health Services Office (HSO) does not monitor commercial water firms on

a daily basis. It does not have a resident chemist and the appropriate

water testing equipment. Water samples are sent to the Department of

Science and Technology (DOST) for testing. As a yearly requirement for

the renewal of business permits, water testing is costly for owners of

commercial water firms at P3,800 for a single test. Failure however on

their part to subscribe to the water testing requirement may result to the

closure of their business operations.

The Philippines only has one laboratory that can test for arsenic

concentration in line with World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

The laboratory is found in the Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) at

UP Diliman. The country does have the equipment needed to test whether

water samples actually satisfy international water safety standards.

CEPMO reports that only 24% of the city’s population is connected to the

sewerage system.

C. Household Survey Results. The household survey examined the major and

secondary sources of water for various domestic uses during the dry and rainy

seasons of selected poor households in Baguio City. Further, it also looked at the

social arrangements that households have devised to have water access, the

prices and cost of domestic water, as well as health and sanitation issues related

to water.

Table 2 shows a summary of the socio-economic characteristics of the household

head and his/her spouse. Household heads are predominantly male and are 48

years of age on average. Three-fourths of household heads held a job in the last

3 months prior to the survey. In terms of their occupation, the typical household

head works in construction (24.3%) or as a laborer in various jobs (21.3%).

Around the same proportion was not gainfully employed during the survey period.

Eighty-nine percent of the household head’s spouse is female and 44 years of

age on average. They are typically unemployed (47.8%) and are engaged in

housekeeping activities (8.4%). Twelve percent of spouses work as sales

workers. Only 43.3% of them held a paid job in the last three months.

The educational characteristics of the household head and spouse are the same.

Generally, their educational attainment is low with half of them having high school

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education or lower. A quarter of them graduated from high school. Only one out

of twenty graduated from college.

Table 2.Socio-Economic Characteristics of Household Head and Spouse

Household

Head

(N = 300)

Spouse

(N = 251)

GENDER

% Male 77.3 10.8

% Female 22.7 89.2

AVERAGE AGE 48.12 43.75

HIGHEST EDUCATION

COMPLETED

Median Highest Education

Completed Some high school Some high school

% No formal schooling 4.7 2.3

% HS grad 24.7 25.7

% > HS grad 17.33 17.53

% college grad 5 4.3

EMPLOYMENT STATUS

% with job in last 3 months 75.7 43.3

OCCUPATION

None 21.7 47.8

Construction worker 24.3 3.2

Laborer 21.3 2.4

Jeepney/taxi driver 6 0.4

Sales worker 5.7 12

Housekeeping 2.7 8.4

Business owner 3 6

Others 15.3 19.8

Majority (55%) of households are nuclear in composition while 47.3% are of the

extended family type. Only one case of unrelated families belonging to one

household was found. The average household size of the sample is 6.38. Each

household has an average of 2.14 members of working age (15 to 64 years old)

and 1.75 members belonging to the 6 to 14 age bracket.

In terms of predominant economic activity, households in the sample have an

average of 2.71 members who attended school and around one member who is

gainfully employed.

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Table 3. Household Composition of Survey Respondents

Average

HOUSEHOLD SIZE 6.38

AGE

Less than 1 year old 0.11

1 to 5 0.57

6 to 14 1.75

15 to 64 2.14

65 & older 0.06

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

No. of members who attend school 2.71

No. of gainfully employed members 0.83

Survey findings are presented in three parts which cover (1) economic and

financial aspects of access to water; (2) sanitation and health; and (3) household-

initiated water recycling practices.

1. Economic and Financial Aspects of Access to Water: Only a quarter

(27.7%) of poor households has their own BWD connection while another

26.7% of them share in a neighbor or relative’s BWD line. Majority (45.7%) of

them do not own a BWD connection. The corresponding figures derived in

the 2015 IIED-funded household survey reveal that 68.6% of households are

BWD-connected, 7.6% share in someone else’s BWD line, and 29% do not

own a BWD connection3 (see Ciencia et al., 2015). The difference in the

statistics emphasizes the significance of financial means to acquire and

maintain a BWD connection. Many poor households do not have this means.

The poor’s lack of access to potable water is exacerbated by BWD’s own

inability to reach 100% of its coverage area and this has significant

consequences especially for poor households. First, households who buy

water from other sources have to pay more. Compared with BWD’s minimum

rate of PHP38 per cu m for the first 10 cu m, consumers of commercial water

delivery services are charged an average of PHP28 per drum or PHP140 per

cu m.4The costs are 3.68 times that of BWD water. Second, water quality

from non-BWD sources is also not guaranteed because of the absence of

monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the water delivered

in tankers come from a clean source and that no contamination happens in

the process of delivering it to consumers. These factors make poor

households even more vulnerable health-wise and finance-wise.

3The two samples might not be comparable in that the current dataset comes from poor households only while

the 2015 IIED-funded survey is more heterogeneous income-wise as the respondents were chosen from the larger population of households in selected barangays. 4The equivalency used is 5 drums per cu m.

18

Spring water is another major alternative to BWD water and is reportedly

used by 69% of poor households. Although access to spring water is

generally free, in Barangay Irisan, the Irisan Water Cooperative pumps and

distributes water to its members at PHP75 per cu m, or double the BWD

price.

Expanding BWD coverage especially in areas where poor residents live is

thus expected to substantially lower the cost of domestic water. However,

topographic constraints limit access to BWD services. BWD pipelines have

not been built in the city’s hilly areas. Since many poor households live in

geographically precarious and inaccessible places, they are doubly difficult to

reach by the BWD water supply system.

A substantial investment on water infrastructure by the local water utility is

thus required. There is potential demand for BWD services even among poor

households. Among the 217 households who are currently without a BWD

line, 77% have expressed great interest in obtaining such.5 While this will

mean a substantial allocation from the household’s meager budget, the

households surveyed were optimistic that their water needs can be better

addressed if they have their own BWD connection. Respondents, however,

expressed concern about how expensive it is to apply for one’s own line.

Baguio residents address domestic water needs through informal social

arrangements among a network of households that live close together.

Survey results show that 37.3% of households with private BWD lines

regularly share their water with neighbors or relatives who do not have BWD

connections (see Table 4.) Eighty out of the 300 respondents (26.7%) claim

to use BWD water from a neighbor or relative’s line. This accounts for 36.9%

of respondents without a BWD line. The average price per drum is PHP29

although the cheapest is PHP10 while the highest price is PHP50. The cost

of water may be considered exorbitant when compared to the BWD rate of

PHP38 per cu m (or PHP7.60 per drum) but it is competitive when compared

to the price charged by water delivery services.

Table 4. Distribution of Respondents According to BWD Connection

and Having a Shared BWD Line

HH Shares in

a BWD Line

HH owns BWD Line TOTAL

YES NO

YES 31 (37.3%) 80 (36.9%) 111 (37%)

NO 52 (62.7%) 137 (63.1%) 189 (63%)

TOTAL 83 (100%) 217 (100%) 300 (100%)

5This is significantly higher than the 43.4% figure obtained in 2015 expressing the desire to have a BWD

connection. Apparently, non-BWD sources are deemed sufficient, cheaper, and sometimes even better than BWD given that BWD water is rarely available continuously and a minimum rate is charged for 10 cu m even if consumption is lower.

19

It bears noting that the conduct of the survey and key informant interviews for

the 2015 IIED study (Ciencia et al., 2015) revealed that BWD clients can

offset part of their water bill by re-selling BWD water even if it is only done on

a small scale. In fact, households whose water consumption does not exceed

the minimum level of 10 cu m find it to their interest to sell any excess water

to neighbors. The relatively steep price is equivalent to the cost of water

delivery plus the transaction cost that accompanies water delivery. No waiting

time is involved. One can buy as little as one drum (or less) at a time.

The uncertainty associated with waiting for the water delivery to come is

reduced. The higher price is also perhaps associated with the information

asymmetry present when determining the amount of water bought by a

neighbor. Efforts at keeping tabs on the actual amount of water bought by

one’s neighbor are kept to a minimum and consumption levels are taken on

trust. In some cases, payment is collected only when the buyer has the

means to pay.

Mutually beneficial arrangements between and among neighbors allow them

access to water delivery services they would otherwise not find accessible.

Commercial water establishments typically require a minimum of 10 drums

per order. Aside from the required financial outlay, many poor households do

not have enough water containers and are thus constrained from using this

water source. Survey results show that 52.4% of those who use delivered

water in the last six months bought eight drums or less during their last order.

What households do is to organize themselves when arranging for water

delivery services. A household could buy as little as one drum of water at any

one time or whatever amount it can afford and store. What is important is that

the group of households is able to meet the minimum delivery of 10 drums.

This arrangement is however not without its problems.

Survey respondents’ report that conflicts ensue on whose container gets filled

up first. Because leakages cannot be avoided when water is transported via

water tanker and water is pumped through long hoses from tanker to drum,

the household that gets water last will likely get less than what it paid for.

Water from natural sources like springs and creeks abound in Baguio City.

The role played by these water sources is especially crucial for poor

households in that it is generally free except for some investment of time in

fetching water. If a resident can afford it, he can pay for installing polyvinyl

chloride (PVC) pipes from the source to his place of residence. Survey data

show that 47% of poor households use spring water for different purposes as

seen in Table 5. At least a fifth of households use water from this source for

primary uses like cooking, washing dishes, bathing and laundry. Because

spring becomes murky during the rainy season, the use of this water source

decreases with the onset of rains.

Table 5. Various Uses of Spring Water, Dry vs. Rainy Season

20

DRY SEASON RAINY SEASON

Cooking 20.3 17.3

Washing dishes 22.0 18.0

Bathing 22.3 18.3

Laundry 24.0 18.3

Flushing toilet 19.0 12.7

Watering plants 17.3 10.7

Cleaning inside house 19.0 13.3

Cleaning surroundings 18.7 12.3

N 300 300

Households economize on purchased water by relying on rainwater (see

Table 6). Not only is rainwater free but also it is cleaner than spring water

(See the geologist’s comment in Annex B: RTD on rainwater harvesting). Not

surprisingly, rainwater harvesting among poor households is more prevalent

at 84.7% compared to the 49.4% value obtained in the city-wide survey in

2015.

Table 6. Various Uses of Rainwater

%

Cooking 10.7

Washing dishes 25.7

Bathing 22.7

Laundry 44.0

Flushing toilet 59.7

Watering plants 49.3

Cleaning inside house 52.7

Cleaning surroundings 57.3

N 300

Access to drinking water is ensured by the proliferation of water refilling

stations. Data from the Permits and Licensing Division (PLD) of the City

Government of Baguio shows that in 2014, a total of 127 water refilling

stations operated in the area. Purified water is used by 85% of households

surveyed. Water from this source is cheap -- selling at an average price of

PHP29 per 5-gallon bottle. It is also available in most sari-sari stores making

it the most accessible water source. Boiling water for drinking is a prevalent

practice among poor households with 71% of the sample claiming such

method to make water safe.

Given the foregoing, poor households in Baguio City address their water

security needs by deriving water from a combination of sources each chosen

for their relative cost, ease of access, and quality. Faced with financial

constraints, poor households tend to rely on free sources of water like

21

springs, creeks and rainwater when these are available even when water

quality is uncertain. The poorest of the poor who cannot afford to tap his own

water pipe in the spring that is one kilometer or so away from his residence

will have to invest labor time to fetch water for cooking, bathing, etc.

Fetching water is reportedly done by adult males (24.8%) and adult females

(20.6%). It bears noting that the activity takes time away from gainful

employment. Washing clothes and bathing near the water source is also done

but these could cause water pollution and endanger human health. Ensuring

the safety of natural water sources is important if water-borne diseases are to

be avoided. Whose task this is remains unclear when the water source is

open access. Who have rights to develop and to profit from springs and

creeks to the exclusion of other users also remains in question.

In areas where there are no springs and creeks, poor households have to rely

on the BWD or water delivery. These require some cash outlay often beyond

their means. Despite this, poor households express a strong desire to have

their own BWD line. A major obstacle to achieving this is that majority (53.7%)

live in homes built on land they do not own. As informal settlers, they are not

qualified to apply for a BWD connection despite having resided in the same

barangay for many years.

2. Sanitation and Health: 94.7% of the 300 survey respondents said they have

water sealed toilets in their homes. 3.3% (10 respondents) say they use ‘open

pit’ toilets while 1.3% (4 respondents) claim to rely on ‘closed pit’ toilets.

Interestingly, one respondent says her household has no toilet facility while

another claims members of his household practices ‘open defecation’ in

grassy area (‘talahiban’) near their place of residence.

Table 7. Type of Toilet Owned/Used

%

Water Sealed 94.7

Open Pit 3.3

‘Closed Pit’ 1.3

Open Areas .3

No Toilet .3

N 300

On the issue of sharing toilet facilities, 79% say their households do not share

their toilet facilities with other households. Significantly, 20.7% or around one

in every five households share toilet facilities with other households. Among

households that share toilet facilities, 59.7% say the toilet facilities are shared

by a maximum of two households while 19.4% say toilet facilities are shared

by a maximum of three households.

Table 8. Sharing of Toilet Facilities with Other Households

22

%

Not Shared 79

Shared with Other Households 20.7

N 300

With regard to the incidence of sanitation-related diseases, 14.3% (43 out of

300 respondents) report that a household member suffered from a sanitation-

related disease. The data gathered from the survey is not sufficient to

accurately make a link between the incidence of a water-borne disease and

the water quality ingested by the household member. Based on recorded data

alone, incidence of diseases such as diarrhea and typhoid fever cannot be

attributed solely to poor water quality as this may have many other possible

causes. In order to isolate the cause of a disease or determine with certainty

that the disease was actually caused by poor water quality, tests must be

conducted for each specific case following a clinical set-up. Other causes of

the diarrhea must be eliminated in order to conclude that it is solely water

quality that is the culprit.

3. Household-initiated water recycling practices: The survey results revealed

that 87.3% of poor households in Baguio City collect water used from laundry

for recycling purposes. The survey reveals that 87.3 per cent of poor

households in Baguio City collect water used from laundry for recycling

purposes. Flushing the toilet ranks highest among the multiple uses of water

collected from such activity (see table below).

Table 9: Uses of Recycled Water from Laundry

Frequency* %

Flushing toilet 253 84.3

Cleaning the house 141 47.0

Pet care 23 7.67

Watering plants 69 23.0

Cleaning various things 34 11.3

Washing rugs 2 0.7

N 300

*multiple responses

The practice of water recycling in Baguio City is more pronounced during the

dry season than the rainy season. While recycled water is used a lot during

the dry season for the activities mentioned above, what is mainly used for the

same activities during the rainy season is not recycled water but rainwater.

16.43 % of the poor Baguio households also reported other sources of

recycled water aside from laundry water.

23

Table 10: Other Ways of Recycling Water

Frequency* %

Re-use water from washing dishes 27 9.0

Re-use water from washing rice 14 4.7

Re-use bath water 8 2.7

N 300

*multiple responses

The results of this survey among poor households in relation to water

recycling are not much different from the findings of the citywide survey

conducted in 2015 among varied households. In the citywide survey of 2015,

it was reported that 79 %of households in Baguio City recycle their used

water. The recycled water is mainly collected from activities such as doing

laundry (95.5%), washing dishes (26.6%), bathing (10.9%), and cooking

(8.1%).

D. FGD Results. FGDs clarified certain issues, among them are the following:

Only the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has the power to

monitor the operations of deep wells.

The City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) has no

authority to stop owners from operating their deep wells.

The Health Services Office (HSO) supervises the operation of water

refilling stations.

The BWD has the authority to issue the certificate of potability in terms of

water drawn from deep wells.

Documentation of the FGDs can be found in Annex C. The FGDs produced the

general observation that, as of the moment, the Baguio Water Code appears to

be a failure since it has not been fully put into action. Meanwhile, Baguio’s

Environment Code was just passed in June 2016. As such, it is still premature to

evaluate the scale of its execution

Prompted by the sharing of experiences during the FGDs, a member of the UP

Baguio-ICLEI project team wrote an analysis of the legal aspects of the issue of

water extraction in Baguio City (see Annex K).

E. Pilot Testing Water Filtration in a Poor Community. The 2015 IIED study recommended the adoption of ‘technology-based

interventions, particularly locally-made water purification systems’ by Baguio City

households. The recommendation was inspired by the findings of a study titled

‘Rainwater Purification System and a Proposal for a Rainwater Harvesting

System’ by Abucay, et al., 2014. The study claimed to have succeeded in

building ‘a fully functional purification system using porous mullite ceramic as raw

material for the filter’ (Abucay et al., 2014: 1).

24

The key elements/features of the study included the following:

he utilization of a porous mullite ceramic-based filtration system which

'successively removes impurities from the water samples' (Abucay, 2014:

4-6);

the report that the ceramic water filter when tested in Tacloban -

immediately after Typhoon Yolanda - produced results showing water to

be potable;

the material that comprises the filter is available in the Philippines, making

the filters ‘relatively more cost-effective’;

the sizes of the pores of the mullite ceramic are ‘in the submicron range,

smaller than that of commercially available filters’; and

while 'bacteria cannot be removed by these water filters, (they) can be

reduced significantly... To conform to national standards, the use of other

treatment methods (such as the use of chlorine, ozone or ultraviolet (UV)

light, or via distillation) should be introduced.

The intention in the current Baguio Water Security study was to pilot-test the

water purification system in a poor Baguio barangay. This intention was shaped

by a number of considerations - among them the idea that water filtration ought to

be tested in barangays that:

are likely to benefit from its utilization;

exhibit relatively limited access to BWD water connections;

rely on natural water sources - e.g. natural springs - for their water;

face sanitation issues;

have already devised community-based water-sharing arrangements or

distribution systems; and

are also likely to practice rainwater harvesting and consider water

filtration.

For these reasons, Barangay Irisan appeared to be a most suitable site for the

pilot-testing component of the study. The actual implementation of the pilot-

testing was, however, stalled by a number of developments, namely:

the report that Abucay et al.’s filtration system had already been

dismantled;

that it will take some time before another mullite ceramic filter is produced;

and

that the mullite ceramic filter had exhibited the unfortunate characteristic

of breeding molds - thus, threatening its ability to filter 'biological'

materials.

In light of these developments, the project team looked for commercially available

filters. This move was justified by the realization that for filtration to be adopted in

the city, the filtration systems needed to be available, preferably reasonably

priced. Only then, the team assumed, will the purchase of filtration systems be

considered by relatively poor households. Having decided to pilot test

commercially-available but reasonably-priced filtration systems, the next step was

25

to test their ability to purify different types of water - e.g. rainwater, spring water,

etc.

Preparatory activities leading to the planned pilot-testing of a water filtration

system in Barangay Irisan, including the testing of spring water samples and the

testing of the ability of the purchased filtration systems to purify spring water and

harvested rainwater, however, produced the following discouraging findings:

Samples of spring water that is distributed by the Irisan Cooperative did not meet the standards of the micro-biological analysis. The water distributed by the Irisan Cooperative is not safe for drinking.

The purchased filtration systems were for the most part ineffective in

making spring water and harvested rainwater meet micro-biological

standards.

(See also Annex L for a more detailed discussion of the conduct of the pilot

testing experiment and Annex M for water sample test results)

Unwilling to put at risk the health of potential participants from Barangay Irisan,

the project team opted to discontinue the implementation of the pilot-testing

experiment. In any event, the conduct of preparatory activities has led the team to

identify the following as the factors that can bear on a poor community’s adoption

of a water filtration system to address water scarcity challenges:

the proven effectiveness/ability of the filtration system to purify water;

long term use;

actual cost, which includes the costs of maintaining and replacing the

filtration system and its parts;

costs, in terms of the money, time, and effort needed to ensure the

storage and transport of suitable water for filtration;

convenience and efficiency – i.e., the speed and ease at which amounts

of water can be purified and made potable when needed;

its ability to serve the needs of a large number of households as a device

for community use;

the rejection of alternative ways of treating water - e.g. chlorination,

boiling, etc.; and

the rejection of alternative ways of securing water - e.g. through a BWD

connection, water refilling stations, etc.

Despite the project team’s decision to discontinue the pilot-testing of a water

filtration system in a poor Baguio barangay, the effort nonetheless resulted in the

realization that ensuring water quality for consumers through the use of

commercially-available water filtration systems is a rather laborious, costly, and

time-consuming process that it might be more beneficial to explore alternative

ways of ensuring potable water for poor households and communities.

26

F. Development of IEC materials

The development and production of IEC materials builds on the project

proponents’ conviction that for Baguio residents to be water secure and resilient

vis-à-vis the challenges of climate change and urbanization, their mindset and

water utilization behaviors need to be informed by scientific information. The

development of IEC materials took into account the findings of the earlier study.

The survey results of the 2015 IIED study revealed that 49.4% of Baguio City

households practice rainwater harvesting. Considering that on a yearly basis, the

city receives significant amounts of rainfall compared with other Philippine cities

or municipalities, the finding indicates that Baguio residents have indeed adopted

water maximizing behaviors to address the city’s paradoxical water scarce

situation.

The 2015 IIED study also revealed that 85.3% of Baguio households rely on

water refilling stations for drinking water. The finding indicates the Baguio

residents’ adaptive response to the need to access potable water in the city.

The practice of rainwater harvesting and reliance on water refilling stations

however carry risks as was revealed during the conduct of the project’s RTDs,

FGDs, KIIs, and consultation activities. In the case of rainwater harvesting, there

is a danger of the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. Moreover, while rainwater

is ‘clean’ for general household use – e.g. dishwashing, bathing, washing clothes,

household cleaning, and cooking - but not for drinking, rainwater that passes

through ‘unclean’ roofs, gutters, and downspouts, and collected in ‘unclean’

containers may not be as sanitary and useful. In the case of reliance on refilling

stations, the conduct of FGDs and RTDs revealed that not all refilling stations in

the city have permits and/or comply with the prescribed regulatory requirements.

For the above reasons, a poster on proper rainwater harvesting and stickers

informing the public on the features of legitimate water refilling stations were

developed by the project proponents (see Annex N). The posters are meant to be

placed in public bulletin boards such as those found in barangay halls and health

centers. The stickers are intended to be attached to plastic containers or

dispensers often used by water refilling stations. Realization by the project

proponents that pamphlets often end up unread by the general public after

distribution prompted the project proponents to develop and produce stickers

instead of pamphlets.6

The realization that using stickers rather than pamphlets would be the more

appropriate means to reach our target audience, the households, came with the

results of the survey showing that more than 80% of households rely on water

refilling stations for their drinking water. Given this, the team saw the potential of

water gallons, containers and dispensers to become the effective platform for

6A 2016 communication mapping report written by Sta. Maria-Abalos, Cheng, Javier and Rualo also revealed that alongside radio and television, communication through posters is preferred by users of IEC materials on disaster risk reduction (DRR).

27

disseminating information about ensuring water quality especially for drinking

purposes. The stickers placed on these materials are designed to become

constant reminders for both the water provider and consumer to check the quality

of their drinking water against the standards or requirements set by the law.

Since the water containers are also movable and usually used interchangeably

by the households serviced by the refilling stations, the information from the

stickers will hopefully reach a wider audience, and reach them on a more regular

basis (given that people see containers for drinking water on a daily basis). The

pamphlets, on the other hand, may end up unread or may be read once at best

upon dissemination to our target audience.

The stickers and posters produced as IEC materials will be primarily distributed to

all barangays of Baguio City through the head of the League of Barangay

Captains who holds office at the Baguio City Hall. The project co-operators-- the

barangays and households which participated in the survey, Irisan Multi-Purpose

Cooperative and the Irisan Elementary School will also be given these IEC

materials.In line with the study’s focus on water security in Baguio City from the

perspective of households, the team decided to make households the main target

of its IEC material.

VII. Conclusion

This study reveals that selected poor households in Baguio City address their water security

needs by deriving water from a combination of sources each chosen for their relative cost,

ease of access, and quality. Faced with financial constraints, poor households tend to rely

on free sources of water like springs, creeks, and rainwater when these are available even

when water quality is uncertain. The poorest of the poor who cannot afford to tap his own

water pipe in the spring located one kilometer or so away from his residence will have to

invest labor time to fetch water for cooking, bathing, etc.

In areas where there are no springs and creeks, poor households have to rely on the BWD

or water delivery. These require cash outlay often beyond their means. Despite this, poor

households express a strong desire to have their own BWD line. A major obstacle to

achieving this is that majority (53.7%) live in homes built on land they do not own. As

informal settlers, they are not qualified to apply for a BWD connection despite having resided

in the same barangay for many years.

Given Baguio City’s precarious water situation mainly because of the institutional weakness

of the city’s water providers and regulators, the practice of water recycling should be

encouraged. The fact that water recycling seems almost like ‘second nature’ among Baguio

City households is an instructive demonstration of judicious water use. Even during the rainy

season when water is relatively abundant in the city, some households still recycle water for

flushing their toilets, watering their plants, and cleaning their houses. This may prove then

that the practice of water recycling has already been embraced by many households in

Baguio City not just as a coping strategy but as a good and smart way of contributing to

responsible resource use.

According to the WHO-UNICEF (2008), improved water sources are sources ‘that by nature

of their construction or through active intervention are protected from outside contamination,

28

particularly fecal matter. These include piped water in a dwelling, plot or yard.” An improved

sanitation facility is one “that ensures the separation of human excreta from human contact”

(Straub, 1999: 3-4).

Straub (2009) warns us that the design of water policy must consider the externalities arising

from the management of water systems. For example, a positive externality arises from

improvements in health due to a reduction in water-related diseases because of improved

quality of drinking water and the proper treatment of waste water. A negative externality

results from the over-extraction of ground water that puts into jeopardy the water available to

future generations. Thus, although water in urban areas is more likely a private commodity, it

needs to be seen also as a public good requiring timely and appropriate intervention by

government.

In addition, survey results showed the variability of the cost of good water sources in the

city. It is necessary to make large investments in the infrastructure that efficiently makes

available potable water to households. The water impounding structure for the Irisan Water

Cooperative was constructed through the support of NGO grants together with the expertise

provided by the BWD. Although households subscribing to the services of the Irisan Water

cooperative pay more per cubic meter of water compared to subscribers of BWD (see

discussion above), this is not sufficient to enable the system to upgrade its operations.

Households pay for the pipes that distribute water to their homes. These pipes are not

properly protected from possible contamination from elements in the environment as the

pipes wind through living spaces of persons and animals as well as vegetation as these

begin from the source to the houses.

The water sector consists of economic, health and environmental aspects (see Straub,

2009). The economic dimension refers to the fact that water is a key public service and is a

major component of urban infrastructure. The health dimension refers to the quality of water

and the adequacy of sanitation while the environmental dimension refers to water resource

exhaustion and pollution. This study revealed that there are currently policies that deal with

the health and environmental dimensions of water as shown in the passage of the Water

Code and the Environment Code. What appears to be lacking is a policy affecting the

economic dimension of water. For example, there is no agency charged with monitoring the

appropriateness of water tariffs charged by water distribution systems.

It is often the case that several government agencies are involved in policy-making regarding

the water sector. In addition, there can be regulatory bodies with potentially overlapping

tasks. Hence, a water policy framework is required in order to enable different agencies to

cooperate in the management of the urban water supply.

There is also the mismatch between the political and geographical jurisdictions of regulators

and that of service providers. The Baguio Water District (BWD) is not answerable to the City

Government. It is independent of the local government. Instead, BWD is under the

jurisdiction of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA). The City Government of

Baguio has no power to issue City Water Permits because only the National Water

Resources Board (NWRB), is mandated by law to issue these permits

Good water policy needs to confront the tensions between the characteristics of water

resources in terms of ease and access and the local nature of entities responsible for

29

building and operating water supply systems. For example, in Baguio City, the BWD water

supply services is hindered by the city landscape’s terrain. Can the City Government

support (or subsidize) the operations of local water cooperatives especially when these

serve poor households? Our survey results show that non-BWD households pay twice the

price for the same volume of water than BWD households (see section on the survey

results).

The local government can support the entry of private investment to the water sector in order

to increase coverage. It must also design progressive subsidies (i.e., consumption subsidies

like the conditional cash transfers program of DSWD) and address the issue of expensive

connection rates for poor households. For example, the cost of installing the water

connection to BWD can be partially if not fully subsidized by the City Government.

VIII. Policy Recommendations

Implementation of the different components of the study has allowed the project proponents

and stakeholders/participants to generate a number of policy recommendations. At a very

general level, the study recommends a review of the National Water Code, particularly its

provisions on the issuance of water permits. The recommendation is to decentralize the

issuance of water permits to ensure more meaningful monitoring and consequently, more

effective protection of Baguio City’s water resources. Given the Philippine Water Code’s

nature as a national law, it is recommended that this finding be forwarded to the City’s

representative to the Congress.

Another recommendation is for the local government of Baguio to continue exploring ways to

more effectively manage its wastewater and improve and expand the city’s sewerage

system. The other obvious recommendations are to enhance the protection of the City’s

watersheds and its capacity to recharge its water supply. These efforts will require the

leadership of city officials and the support of government agencies. A not so obvious

recommendation involves the adoption of ‘financial arrangements’ or ‘incentive schemes’ to

promote resilient and sustainable water utilization behaviors.

Culled from the various components of the study, the following policy recommendations are

summarized below:

Economic dimension

o Support efforts of the BWD to expand its coverage area and to make its water more

affordable especially for the benefit of the poor.

o Secure substantial water infrastructure investment sourced from the city budget.

o For the city government to find ways to make water more accessible and affordable

to the poor.

Health dimension

o Conduct closer and more regular monitoring of commercial water firms to ensure that they consistently meet water quality standards.

o Strictly implement the provisions of the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines and the Baguio Water Code that prohibit washing clothes and bathing near sources of drinking water; these laws are meant to protect water sources from contamination.

30

o Study and monitor possible proliferation of mosquito-borne diseases and other health concerns in water harvesting facilities.

Environmental Dimension

o Conduct a detailed water resource mapping in the city. o Closely monitor the extraction of water resources in the city by both the City

government and the NWRB in the light of the seeming proliferation of deep wells.

o To decentralize the power to issue water permits to ensure better monitoring and

regulation of water utilization and extraction activities.

o Explore new ways of regulating water extraction in the city in the event that amending

the National Water Code proves difficult.

o Faithful implementation of the water catchment requirement for structures in the city.

o Encourage water recycling.

Regulatory Dimension

o Amend the National Water Code. o Revisit the Baguio Water Code and Environment Code and see whether the offices

tasked with issuing permits actually possess the requisite expertise for their functions.

o Revisit the Environment Code's provision requiring well drillers to submit accreditation documents to the BWD, an agency that is independent of the city government.

o Harmonize the provisions of the City's Water Code on the verification of water sourcers and extractors with those of the Environment Code.

o Rationalize and streamline the issuance and checking of occupancy permits by the concerned agencies - e.g. the CEPMO and CBAO for local agencies to have enforcement powers vis-a-vis deep well operations.

o Involve barangay officials in the processing of applications for water refilling stations. o Develop and disseminate IEC materials on rainwater harvesting and water

purification, safeguarding water quality, and regulating water extraction activities.

At this point, it should become apparent that a number of specific recommendations may

indeed be advanced with the objective to establishing a more water secure and resilient

Baguio City. In any event, it seems necessary to recognize the general categories of

recommendations that may be forwarded. In the light of the various characteristics of water

as a vital natural resource, the research proponents argue for the adoption of a general

framework for formulating water policy in the city.

IX. Way Forward

The next logical step for the project team after the conduct of this project is to seek an

audience with Baguio City officials and pertinent government agencies. Considering that a

key recommendation of the study involves efforts aimed at decentralizing the issuance of

water permits, it seems proper to present the study’s findings to Baguio City’s newly-elected

Representative Marquez Go.

Clearly, the City Mayor, members of the City Council, and the CEPMO also need to be

informed about the study’s findings and recommendations, particularly those that bear on the

provisions of Baguio’s Water Code and Environment Code. It is the project team’s hope that

the City Government of Baguio will be open to our policy recommendations.

31

The project team also intends to discuss the conduct of the Barangay Irisan ‘experiment’

with the principal of the Irisan Elementary School and the water supply operator of the Irisan

Multipurpose Cooperative. Another plan is to link closely with MindaOdsey of the

Watersheds and Water Resources Research Center (WWRC) of the DENR who is doing

work in water utilization. Among her interesting studies was one on users’ willingness to pay

for water services.

Finally, the project team plans to submit article/s to a scholarly journal for possible

publication. The previous study produced a book chapter which will be included in a

forthcoming Routledge publication. It is our hope that this study will also see print as an

academic material.

32

References

Abucay, J.; Agulo, I.J.; and Pascua, C. 2014. ‘Rainwater PurificationSystem and a Proposal

for a Rainwater Harvesting System.’ A terminal reportsubmitted to the Cordillera

Studies Center, University of the Philippines Baguio on 29 June 2014.

Baguio Water Access and Security Forum. 2015. Documentation of the 11 December

2015 Validation Activity/Consultation Dialogue held at UP Baguio, Baguio City.

Baguio Water District (undated) Vision & mission statements and strategic goals.

See:www.baguiowaterdistrict.gov.ph/transparency/about-us/profile/vision-mission-

statements

Ciencia, A.; Mendoza, L.C.; Cruz, G.A.; Penalba, M.A.; Calde, N.L.; and Cabalfin, M.R.

2017. “Water security and urban resilience: the case of Baguio City, Philippines.”

InResponding to Climate Change in Asian Cities: Governance for a more resilient

urban future, edited by Diane Archer, Sarah Colenbrander, David Dodman, pp.146 -

164. UK: Taylor and Francis Group.

Ciencia, A.N.; Mendoza, L.C.; Cruz, G.; Calde, N.; Cabalfin, M.; and Penalba, M.

2015.‘Towards Establishing Water Security and Urban Resilience in the City of

Baguio,’Asian Cities Climate Resilience Working Paper Series, 27-2015. Available

at:pubs.iied.org/pdfs/10754IIED.pdf?

Commission on Audit. 2012. Executive summary. See: http://tinyurl.com/coa-2012-baguio

DENR and NWRB. 2015. ‘Why we need to register/apply for a water permit’: a flyer

produced by the DENR and NWRB.

Documentation & Notes on the FGD on Water Quality Standards & Water Extraction held

atthe KTRC, UP Baguio on 7 July 2016.

Environment Code of the City of Baguio. 2016.

Estoque, R. and Murayama, Y (2013) City profile: Baguio. Cities 30: 240–251.

Executive Order No. 124-A. 1987. Amending Executive Order No. 124, dated 30

January 1987, Reorganizing the Department of Public Works and Highways,

Redefining its powers and functions and for other purposes.

Focus Group Discussion with officers from CEPMO and DENR-CAR held 7 July 2016.

Interview with Bernadeth ‘Bina’ Suguitan, Irisan Spring Water custodian, conducted at

Purok14A Irisan, Baguio City on 13 June 2016.

Interview with Engr. Moises Lozano of the WAMD, CEPMO, Baguio City, conducted atNorth

Sanitary Camp, 2016.

33

Interview with Engr. Simeon L. Micklay, Section Chief, Water Resource Use Section

(WRUS), DENR-CAR, 2016.

Interview with Physics Professor Ian Agulo, conducted at the KTRC Library/CSC, UP

Baguio, Baguio City,July 2016.

Interview with the Treasurer of the Irisan Water Cooperative, Irisan Baguio City. 13 July

2016.

Ordinance Numbered 13. 2007. ‘Water Code of the City of Baguio.’

Permits and Licensing Division. 2014. List of Business Registrants for 2014.

Philippine Statistics Authority. 2015. Population of the Cordillera Administrative Region

(Based on the 2015 Census of Population).

Philippine Statistics Authority. 2010 census of population and housing: national

capitalregion. See: http://preview.tinyurl.com/psa-2010-census-housing

Philippine Statistics Authority. 2010. Census and Housing Population: Population andAnnual

Growth Rates for the Philippines and Its Regions, Provinces and HighlyUrbanized

Cities.

Presidential Decree No. 424. 1974. ‘Creating a National Water Resources Council,

Reconstituting its Membership, Vesting the Same with Powers to Coordinate and

Integrate Water Resources Development, and Providing Funds Therefor.’

Presidential Decree No. 1067. 1976. ‘The Water Code of the Philippines.’

Proceedings of the Baguio Water Access and Security Forum. 11 December 2015.

CSS-AVR, UP Baguio, Baguio City.

Royeca, S. 2016. Letter sent to UP Baguio Chancellor Raymundo Rovillos dated 13 July

2016.

Royeca, S. 2015a. Official Baguio Water District documents sent to lead author, 2

February2015.

Royeca, S. 2015b. Baguio City Water Supply Situationer, June 2015.

Sta. Maria-Abalos, C.F.L.; Cheng, S.; Javier, J. and, Rualo, J. 2016. Communication

Mapping: Final Report of the IEC Component of the World Food Programme Phase 4

Project.

Straub, S. 2009. ‘Governance in Water Supply.’ GDN Working Paper Series,No. 11, 39 pp.

34

Transcript of the UP-Baguio - ICLEI Southeast Asia Secretariat Round Table Discussion

(RTD) on Rainwater Harvesting and Water Filtration. 28 March 2016. KTRC

Library/CSC, UP Baguio, Baguio City.

WHO-UNICEF. 2008. ‘Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on

Sanitation,’ World Health Organization, Geneva and UNICEF, New York.

35

ANNEX A: DOCUMENTATION OF VALIDATION WORKSHOP &

STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION

Friday, 11 December 2015, 9:00am to12nn

College of Social Sciences Audio Visual Room

The College of Social Sciences, University of the Philippines Baguio invited the public for the

validation of the research entitled, “Towards Establishing Water Security and Climate

Change Resilience in the City of Baguio.”

OPENING PROGRAM

The program began at 9:00 in the morning. Chancellor Raymundo Rovillos welcomed the

participants to the forum. He expressed pride in the completion of this research citing that

concepts in social science, particularly those from economics and political science, were

used to address a social and environmental issue of water security in the city of Baguio. He

cited the prediction of the United Nations Environment Program Unit at the turn of the

century that water is soon to be the battlefield globally. However, in the case of Baguio City,

water has always been a battlefield as he has experienced this having grown up in the City.

He commends the faculty team from the Department of Economics and Political Science for

pursuing the second phase to the study. He thanked the IIED, Rockefeller Foundation and

ICLEI and the City Government for their encouraging support for this research project at the

College of Social Sciences, UP Baguio.

Prof. Mailenita Peñalba, a member of the research team, who served as the forum’s

moderator, acknowledged and welcomed the guests coming from the different government

agencies and city barangays.

INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH PROJECT entitled “Towards Establishing Water

Security and Climate Change Resilience in the City of Baguio”

Dr. Alejandro Ciencia, the research Project Leader, states that his interest in water issues

which is the focus of the research is not merely a professional one but also a personal

commitment because he is a long-time Baguio resident. Dr. Ciencia explains that the forum

has two main parts, the first one being a validation of the findings of the first study: “Towards

Establishing Water Security and Climate Change Resilience in the City of Baguio” that was

funded by the IIED and an introduction to the new project that is being funded by ICLEI

Southeast Asia Secretariat.

The first study which was focused on gathering baseline data had as its basic question,

“What institutional arrangements including practices and policies may Baguio residents

adopt at the City and Barangay level to enhance their access to safe water, promote

sanitation and promote resilience vis-à-vis climate change? It had three specific objectives

namely:

1. to obtain a baseline data on Baguio City’s water supply;

2. to assess the city’s capacity to comply with sanitation and health standards for

drinking water and to ensure survivability primarily in terms of the satisfaction

of the domestic water requirements of the city’s inhabitants; and

36

3. to identify and recommend policies, practices, and other institutional

arrangements to address primarily water security requirements, sanitation,

and access to safe drinking water.

Dr. Ciencia acknowledges the project’s debt of gratitude to the findings of the Sustainable

Water Integrated Management and Governance project (SWIM) of 2005 which was also

supported by ICLEI. This project included issues of waste water management. The UP

Baguio project has also benefited from interaction with the UP System research on Water

Governance where UP Baguio faculty members participated. Whereas water governance

project conducted a survey of water system administrators, the completed study conducted a

survey of water consumers. The review of past and current projects on water led the project

to conclude that there was a need to get baseline data about water demand, i.e., water

consumers; to identify other sources of water for city residents besides the Baguio Water

District; and the possible changes in the technology used in providing water.

PRESENTATION OF KEY FINDINGS and RECOMMENDATIONS

The sequence of presentation was as follows:

Water Sources and Water Access of Baguio City Residents

Prof. GLADYS A. CRUZ

Associate Professor of Economics

Department of Economics and Political Science

Water Quality

DR. LORELEI C. MENDOZA

Professor of Economics


Legal and Policy Dimensions of Water Use

Atty. Nimreh L. Calde

Assistant Professor of Political Science


OPEN FORUM:

Question from Prof. Giron of UP Baguio:

How sure are we that the city is able to monitor that all Baguio households that extract water

for domestic use have permits? I am a little concerned over the possibility of ground

subsidence since there are many households which have water pumps that run deep wells.

However, we do not know whether this fact affects ground subsidence.

Answer from Ms. Lacsamana of CEPMO:

Baguio City is a pioneering local government unit in Southeast Asia that was given

assistance to create a water code for the City. Unfortunately, while we have a very good

water code, we are having a difficult time implementing its provisions. Until this time, we

continue to dialogue with the Baguio Water District and the National Water Resources Board

37

with regards to how best to confront the issue of ‘possible over extraction’ of ground water.

At the time we were crafting the water code, then Executive Director Salvador Alicbala of

NWRB, indicated openness to the idea that the grant of water permits may be devolved to

the local level and even to local government units. The NWRB recognized the fact that it is a

national agency and it was responsible for the whole country. But it did not have the

manpower to efficiently assess and monitor the granting of water permits. However, when

the water code was passed as an ordinance, the NWRB insisted that the grant of water

permits is the sole prerogative of the NWRB. Former Councilor Balajadia suggested that the

City can enter into a memorandum of agreement with the NWRB to monitor water extraction

in the city. In fact, under the water code we are supposed to organize a City Water

Resources Board which is the local counterpart of the NWRB. This has not happened and

we are at a stalemate in terms of implementing the water code of Baguio City.

If you will recall under the old procedure before the Water code was passed, the National

water resources board informs the city about a water permit application by posting notices

on the matter in different strategic areas of the city. In the past, we did not know what our

offices were supposed to do with the water permit requirements. Thus these notices were

just posted at the Sanggunian Hall and at the CEPMO. When we last inquired we learned

that our office can comment and recommend the non-approval of the application for a water

permit if in our judgement, this should not be allowed. All these create confusion. At the

moment, CEPMO is focusing its attention on waste water management. The City Water

Code also includes provisions regarding safe drinking water. There was supposed to be a

body at the City health office that would discharge the task of supervising the implementation

of these provisions on safe drinking water. I don’t know if it continues to operate.

To conclude, there are many issues that we need to resolve about the water code and its

implementation. We continue to hope that the resolution comes soon because the efforts

that went into the drafting and approval of the City Water Code would have just been

wasted.

INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW RESEARCH PROJECT entitled “Engaging Communities

and the City Government in Addressing Water Security, Sanitation, and Urban Resilience

Challenges in Baguio City”

Dr. Ciencia cites four problems identified by the UP study entitled, Towards Water

Governance in the Philippines; the problem in Baguio and other parts of the Philippines is

not water scarcity because of the abundant rainfall that the Philippines has historically

experienced, but rather the problems are about adequate know-how, appropriate adoption of

technology, and how to use data for planning. Most planning exercises are more like “status

quo planning” because the plans simply continue what were already being done in the past.

Plans lack a vision that guides planning for the future.

Dr. Ciencia also clarifies that this second study is more action-oriented and policy-oriented.

The study aims to promote rain-water harvesting in the city with the help of the local

government or the barangay and the community. The study shall also pilot test a water

purification system invented by UP Baguio faculty that makes use of locally available

materials. Basically, the study wants to contribute to the improved compliance with national

water quality standards. Another component of this study will be the production of IEC

38

materials and the submission of a list of recommendations to the local government for the

improvement of the implementation of policies on water in Baguio City.

MESSAGE FROM Ms. Nguyen Phuk Nguk Ha of ICLEI

“Distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of ICLEI Local

Governments for Sustainability, Southeast Asia Secretariat, I would like to thank the

University of the Philippines College of Baguio Educational Foundation (UPCBEF) for

inviting me to this momentous occasion. I would also like to thank our Chancellor and

Vice Chancellors and Ma’am Colleen from the Local Government of Baguio for

graciously attending this event. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the launching of the

project, “Engaging communities and the City Government in Addressing Water Security,

Sanitation, and Urban Resilience Challenges in Baguio City”. This project will be funded

by the ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Southeast Asia Secretariat. I also

wish to thank and acknowledge the Rockefeller Foundation and the Local Government of

Baguio for supporting this important project.

Ladies and Gentlemen, safe, adequate and predictable water supplies are critical to

urban development. Such cities as Baguio continue to develop water demand for

domestic, industrial and commercial usage. Hence the effective and efficient

management of the city’s water resources will also be continuously challenged. Climate

change exacerbates this event by adversely affecting the water supply creating

additional water stress in the city.To address these challenges, UPCBEF with the

assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation and ICLEI Southeast Asia will be

implementing this project. The project’s new focus is on propagating an initiative from the

community and the LGU about water security- related concerns. Hence, the study will

look into water-harvesting and water purification practices, improving the implementation

of water quality and sanitation standards and strengthening the regulation of water

structures in Baguio City.

While addressing water security, urban sanitation and resiliencies of Baguio, we hope

that this initiative will ultimately contribute to the social and economic development of the

city and at the center, improve the overall quality of life of its residents. Collaboration and

participation of multi-stakeholders in the process is central to the implementation of this

project. In this regard, we are really pleased that the local government of Baguio has

indulged the project. The project will be undertaken by the UP Baguio faculty, an

academic institute (under the auspices of the UPBCEF), and will focus on working with

local communities specifically the barangays towards an overall goal of supporting the

formulation and implementation of localized community based and collectively

formulated resilient initiatives.

This project will also further enhance a long standing partnership between the local

government of Baguio and ICLEI. Baguio has been our active ICLEI member since 2003

and has worked on several projects including the Sustainable Water Integrated

Management for Asian Cities as well as participating in a number of regional and local

ICLEI events. This is also a good opportunity to strengthen the collaboration between UP

Baguio and ICLEI since we also have an existing MOU with the Knowledge and Training

Resource Center for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience. ICLEI

is convinced to support our members to undertake action regarding environmental issues

39

such as Baguio’s water resource projects that seek to achieve sustainable development

and we are making concerted efforts to do more. The Asian Engagement Unit is armed

to provide NGO financial support for city and community collaborative initiatives and

encourages local stakeholders to become fully involved in the urban climate change

resilience projects.

In closing, I would like to congratulate UPBCEF and the local government of Baguio City

for taking this initiative. We hope that the study will serve and provide a venue and

occasion for stakeholders to consider, identify populace, and inform community issues

and policy recommendation to improve water security and sanitation in Baguio City.

Agyamanak unay, thank you very much and a pleasant morning to everyone.”

CLOSING REMARKS:

Dr. Corazon L. Abansi, UP Baguio Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs cited two outlooks

with respect to addressing the water problem: the pessimist outlook that says the next world

war will be a war on water and the positive outlook that says that no, there will be no war on

water because the water crisis can be overcome through collaborative and cooperative

action. She says that UP Baguio took the more positive approach to the problem of water as

reflected by this project on water security. She said that the macro-study where she is a

researcher focused on water administrators at the national level, water consumption at the

watershed level, and the application of adaptive-collaborative water governance that might

capture the plurality of water access. These three major activities of their study, says Dr.

Abansi compliment the micro-analysis of the water security project.

She congratulated the study team for moving one-notch higher from the previous research

and for deciding to pursue a study which is action-based and community-linked. She

expresses delight in knowing that the project will look into practices of water harvesting. She

informs everyone that the University of the Philippines Baguio campus is also piloting a

water harvesting project as part of its campus development plan. It intends to use the

project to demonstrate that the problem of water scarcity is really more about appropriate

governance over water. By making use of available resources such as rainwater, the water

scarcity issues may be resolved and even prevent the water crisis. In closing, she thanked

the study team and the IIED for supporting the project as well as ICLEI for supporting the

next phase.

OPEN FORUM/COMMENTS/REMARKS

1. Dr. Tubera of the City Health Office:

We appreciate the baseline data that you have informed us about. Now that we are moving on to the next level and deciding on actions to take, may I just say that for us at the health department, more than water security is the concern for the impact of water on health. For example, too little water will cause water-related and water-based diseases. Now that we are harvesting water, we worry about the impact this may have on the occurrence of dengue because the mosquitoes that carry dengue thrive in clean, clear, stagnant water. Therefore, we are requesting the research team to consider this impact on health.

40

2. Dr. Lacsamana responded to the recommendations by the study team for the

government offices of the city:

We have rehabilitated the water impounding facility at the Baguio City Hall.

The new construction of the City Hall stage integrates two water

harvesting facilities connected to the main building. Originally, all the

gutters of the entire building are connected to the cistern but some of

these gutters had to be diverted in response to the case of a tree root

intrusion. The original stage has a cistern below and even on the side, but

these were cracked by tree roots and these have been rehabilitated.

Another cistern is located at the back of the CEPMO office in response to

a recommendation after an assessment of the Saint Louis University

engineering department.

The city has crafted a city environment code which hopes to cover other

issues not previously covered by the water code. Other environment-

related policies are also contained in this environment code. In fact, a

portion of the code mandates the integration of a water impounding

system in all new structures.

On the problem of adopting technology appropriate to water management,

the city has tried its best despite the difficulty that comes with the existing

procurement system. For example, the procurement of the City for a

composting system has to undergo national procurement procedures

which are very stringent and involves many departments such as TESDA,

DENR, DOST etc.

We continue to hope that we can reactivate the City Water Resources

Board;

The City is a member of the World Water Council.

41

ANNEX B: ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION (RTD) ON

RAINWATER HARVESTING and WATER FILTRATION 28 March 2016

KTRC Library / CSC – UP Baguio

Transcript

Project Leader: Good afternoon, I am Alejandro Ciencia, I am co-project leader of this

project with Dr. Lorelei Mendoza.

Today we have scheduled a round table discussion on Rainwater Harvesting and

Water Filtration. This activity is part of the project funded by the ICLEI Southeast

Asia Secretariat. I’ll just give a backgrounder to our project.

The actual title of the project is “Engaging Communities and the Local Government in

Addressing Water Security, Sanitation and Urban Resilience Challenges in Baguio

City”. This study is funded by ICLEI Local Government for Sustainability Southeast

Asia Secretariat under the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network

(ACCCRN) and this is part of the small grants fund. This project’s grant is

$30,000.00.

The project is being implemented by UP Baguio with the support of Mayor Domogan.

The letter of endorsement of Mayor Domogan addressed to the ICLEI Program

Manager stated that “I am supporting and endorsing the project of UP Baguio”.

The project duration is December 2015 to August 2016, the completion date is near.

For UP Baguio, we consider this project - Phase 2 - of a previous water security

study. We have completed an earlier study entitled “Towards Establishing Water

Security and Urban Resilience in the City of Baguio”. The research report has been

published as a working paper and is downloadable for free from

http://pubs.iied.org/10754IIED.html.

We are also working on a shorter version of about 20-25 pages from the research

report that will be a chapter in a book which will come out this year. This project was

funded by IIED, the London-based International Institute for Environment and

Development. Both IIED and ICLEI, are members of ACCCRN. IEED is funded by

the Rockefeller Foundation.

The first water security study began in October 2014 and should have finished by

April 2015, but it extended until October 2015 when the working paper was

completed. The findings of our study used the official Baguio Water District data; data

from a survey our project conducted from February to March 2015 with 500

respondents; and data from relevant government offices.

42

The Baguio Water District states that they are currently serving 94% of Baguio’s

population, but it expects to serve 100% by 2020 or about 4 to 5 years from now. But

what does 100% mean? It does NOT necessarily mean that all water subscribers in

Baguio will have water - 24/7. It will only mean that water will reach 100% of

households without claiming to provide regular and continuous water service.

Only 60% of water demand is met by the supply from the Baguio Water District. So

even if we reached 2020, it is doubtful whether the Baguio Water District can satisfy

100% of the water demand. Now in 2014, Baguio Water District reported that

leakages and illegal connections stood at 30%. On this matter, there was a major

improvement because the value fell from 47.4% in 2010. We can say that “hindi na

nga nakakarating yung tubig sa lahat ng households, mayroon pang napupunta sa

illegal connections at sa leakages”.

May I present the team members of the ICLEI Project – there is me, Ma’am Lorelei,

Mike Cabalfin and Ma’am Gladys Cruz. There are two more - Mai Penalba and

Nimreh Calde, who are both not with us today. Ma’am Gladys did the design of the

project’s household survey.

Our survey results show that only 68.6% of Baguio households have a private Baguio

Water District connection. 30% of households get water from non-BWD sources.

61.5% BWD-connected households say water is either adequate or more than

adequate.

Almost 50% of non-BWD households rely on water delivery and even when

households have a BWD connection, they also rely or utilize water delivery. 31% of

all households, BWD and non-BWD, rely on water delivery services. 15.4% of Baguio

households rely on water from natural springs, etc. Around 6% of Baguio

households are served by community water systems, e.g., Happy Hollow.

Non-BWD residents tend to forge arrangements with BWD-connected residents in

order to obtain water, usually through a neighbor. They purchase water from this

neighor-household. Only 10% of BWD-connected households get 24/7 water supply.

The normal water service is 2 to 3 times a week following a distribution schedule. So

ako, nasa Aurora Hill ako, masuwerte nga kami kung 2-3 times a week eh. At hindi

nangangahulugan na “on the day that water arrives’’, ito ay buong araw. Ito ay ilang

oras lamang sa araw na dumating and tubig.

Based on the result of the household survey, a Baguio resident consumes around

160 liters of water per day. This actually meets what the law requires per capita of

about 130 liters per day. Hence, BWD actually satisfies this requirement, more or

less.

Rainwater harvesting is practiced by about 50% of households in Baguio City, and

only 1% of households use or have cisterns. 95% of BWD households also collect

rainwater. 85% of Baguio households rely on water refilling stations who sell water in

5-gallon containers. 79% practice water recycling –“pag naliligo ka, iniipon mo yung

tubig mo at gagamitin mong pang-flush, pang-dilig ng halaman, pang-linis ng bahay.

43

We also obtained data on water quality from the Baguio Health Department. On the

average, 42% of samples in 2013 and 47% of samples in 2014 failed the standard

set for drinking water. This is disturbing.

If BWD as well as private households and establishments use private deep wells,

there is then the potential for over-extraction of water in the city. It is known that

many Baguio establishments have their own private deep wells.

We also found that the City government actually has pertinent and relevant laws and

ordinances regarding rainwater harvesting. We have Resolution 344 passed in 1997

by the Baguio City Council which calls for the installation of rainwater storage and

utilization system in big buildings like the City Hall, Justice Hall and even residential

buildings.

Resolution 210 in 2011 by the Baguio City Council calls for rainwater harvesting

facilities in public schools and barangays. The concern with this, according to Nimreh

Calde, is that these are resolutions, and resolutions are not ordinances.These lack

regulative or enforcement capacity.

But we have the Baguio City Water Code and the Code states that all new buildings

shall include structures for rainwater capture in their design. The Baguio Water Code

has more force, more authority when compared to a Council resolution. What we will

discuss in the roundtable discussion today is to specify what the problems are in

implementing the Water Code. And if the Code is not being implemented, what are

the obstacles to its proper implementation?

In our study, we made the following recommendations. One, is it a good idea to

recommend that we adopt a locally made water purification system? That is why we

invited Dr. Chelo Pascua and Dr. Ofelia Giron because they have both done research

on water purification. Second, what if we promote rainwater harvesting by requiring

the construction of rainwater catchments or cisterns in new residential, commercial

and government buildings, and then make this a requirement for obtaining a building

or occupancy permit? Is that possible? That is why we invited Architect Aris Go. He is

executing the idea of rainwater harvesting at UP Baguio. You may have observed

that on campus there are several diggings. These are for water catchments. Third,

what if we pursue stricter implementation of water quality and safety standards? That

is why we invited representatives from the Baguio Health Department. What can we

do to improve regulations and their implementation? We already mentioned

disturbing results on water quality from the previous study. Fourth, what can we do to

monitor and regulate water extraction activities especially by private individuals and

groups?

Our expectation from this discussion today is that we come to an agreement on a list

of specific recommendations on the issues I mentioned. Can we suggest, for

example, amendments to building ordinances, etc. Can we suggest a building design

incorporating rainwater harvesting? This is a sharing of ideas from persons with

different and varied expertise - architects, engineers, health and sanitary experts,

44

rainwater harvesting and water purification experts, and policy implementers from the

health department, the building and architectural office, and the city environment

office.

To get started, we will give our invited participants, a maximum of 10 minutes to say

their piece, - what they think about the list of recommendations I presented. Where

do we want to begin - rainwater harvesting and purification? We can talk about how

these are done or how these should be done. We can also begin with what is already

being done or what is already being implemented in the City.

CBAO: Actually sir, the recommendation for rainwater harvesting is being implemented for

commercial buildings and high-rise buildings. But this is not yet being done for

residential buildings.

PROJECT LEADER: Kaano nga nagrugi diay implementation [when did the implementation

begin]?

CBAO: Sir I began working with the office only last year.

PROJECT LEADER: When you began work with your office, was this policy already being

implemented?

CBAO: Opo [Yes, Sir]. SM Baguio has cisterns. The satellite market building also has a

cistern (around 5x10x2 meters) collecting rainwater. There is also a cistern at City

Hall in the part of the building facing Burnham Park.

PROJECT LEADER: Diay dadduma nga government offices ngay [what about the other

government offices]?

CBAO: These are still being undertaken, Sir.

PROJECT LEADER: Can we obtain data on what government offices have a rainwater

catchment?

CBAO: These are contained in the office records, Sir.

PROJECT LEADER: Can we get these from you?

CBAO: Yes, Sir

CO-PROJECT LEADER: If we send someone to get the data from your office in order to

know whether the idea of rain harvesting is currently being implemented, is this

possible? If we have this data, then we have a sense, about what is being done now

and what is not being done yet.

CBAO: Ma’am, puwede pong i-request sa office namin at ililista po yung mga particular

agencies then ipapalabas po yung mga plans at puwede pong i-check kung meron

po silang naka plan na rainwater catchment [It is possible to request from our office

45

the list of the particular agencies that you want to check. The building plans can be

brought out for you to see if the plans indicate the presence of a rainwater

catchment].

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Pagkatapos puwede ring i-check kung ginawa yung plano? Kasi

kung minsan nandoon sa plano, pero wala sa actual building. [Is it also possible to

check whether the plan was actually followed in the construction of the building?]

CBAO: Yes po. Meron din po kasing mga establishments na may mga building permit pero

walang occupancy permit. [However there are establishments with a building permit

but they do not have an occupancy permit.]

PROJECT LEADER: So Engr. Pay-an, nu agpaaramidak ti building, masapul nga addan

idiay plano diay rainwater catchment? [So, you are telling us that the building plan

must reflect the presence of a rainwater catchment.]

STUDY LEADER: Itatanong ko lang, anong gamit nung naharvest na rainwater? [May I ask

for what use is the harvested rainwater?]

CBAO: Doon sa mga establishments, for example sa City Hall, yung ginagawa pong

catchment basin ay para sa tubig na gagamitin pang dilig po sa mga halaman sa

Burnham and Rose Garden. [For example, in City Hall, the water collected is used to

water plants at Burnham and the Rose Garden.]

STUDY LEADER: So there is no purification involved, it’s just to catch rainwater?

CBAO: The water in high-rise buildings is recycled for flushing.

PROJECT LEADER: Would you know - kung ano yung technology na ginagamit nila sa

pagrerecycle [what is the technology used to re-cycle the water]? Can we assume

that they have one?

CBAO: Yes, Sir.

PROJECT LEADER: Where do you get the occupancy permit?

CEPMO: CBAO

PROJECT LEADER: Engr. Albert, sa mga old buildings, wala na tayong magagawa doon

kasi gawa na sila eh, pero yung new applications lang kung baga ang puwedeng i-

subject to these new requirements, tama? [For the old buildings we cannot make

them build cisterns or water catchments. This recommendation can only be required

for new building applications, right?]

CBAO: Yes, Sir.

CEPMO: Puwede naman siguro yung commercial buildings, kasi yung commercial buildings

nagre-renew sila ng Business Permit, so if we will require them to put up a water

46

harvesting structure, then maybe gagawa lang sila ng ordinance at puwede na nilang

ipatupad iyon. [It may be possible to require commercial buildings to have a rainwater

harvesting system because when they re-new their business permit annually, this

can be made a requirement for the renewal of the business permit.]

HSO: Yes, that is possible but we also have to consider the area for harvesting water - it

could be underground or elevated. So what we need is for the City authorities to

make that recommendation into an ordinance.

ARCHITECT: I am not sure if it this really being implemented in some commercial buildings,

because building officials don’t really check. Sometimes we submit plans without a

rainwater line and they (CBAO) don’t tell us that this is incorrect or wrong.

CBAO: It is being implemented for commercial buildings with large areas.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Do you mean buildings that are 4-storey and above?

CBAO: Malawak yung space [with wide spaces].

PROJECT LEADER: So yung function niyo (CBAO) is primarily to see kung meron silang,

catchment or wala? [CBAO’s function is to check whether the building has a water

catchment or none.]

ARCHITECT: I think it is very easy to do that, you just draw a box and say this is for

rainwater, it doesn’t have to be there in the building. It doesn’t have to be useful, it

doesn’t have to be used even. It just has to be there. Most often than not, it won’t be

seen. In the plans that we make, we always incorporate separate lines specific for

rainwater, in order for rainwater to go to the toilets and that can be used for flushing.

That means the rainwater lines are part of the plans for plumbing. I have only seen a

few building plans that incorporate rainwater lines for flushing.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Arch. Go, why don’t we try to look at it from the point of view of the

house owner? I think that might be more fruitful. What is the incentive for people to

put in separate pipes for rainwater? Because I can imagine that putting another line

for rainwater will be more expensive.

So if I am planning to do that in my own house, how much more will it cost if I follow

the proposal to have a separate rainwater line? What would be the incentive – just

my social consciousness about what is good for the environment? What if it is too

expensive for me?

ARCHITECT: Yes, it is definitely more expensive, you have one line, you add another line,

your plumbing costs double. But it can be justified specially for large buildings that

require a lot of water for its occupants.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: So there’s an incentive for large buildings where one is serving a

large number of lessees.

47

ARCHITECT: Yes, SM is using rainwater, I think.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: But for individual households, the advantage economically is not

much?

ARCHITECT: Yes, especially if it’s an old house or house that was built long ago, it’s very

difficult to incorporate a rainwater line. For newer buildings, some contractors or

designers won’t bother to put up another line because of the added cost.

PROJECT LEADER: Does Engr. De Los Santos have a question? While we are talking

about rain harvesting, maybe Architect Go can discuss the components of a

rainwater harvesting system that he is currently doing for UP Baguio. Afterwards, we

can ask Dr. Ogie Giron and Dr. Chelo Pascua to discuss water purification, and what

exactly it is.

ARCHITECT: The first part of rainwater collection is, of course, the catchment. Let’s say you

use the gutters. For the gutters to do the job, it is critical that there is a proper filter.

Because if you are using a rainwater catchment without a filter, there will be

sediments in the tank and then after a few years, you will not be able to use the tank

because it is very difficult to clean a cistern. It is very difficult to remove sediment.

And it is also costly to do this. Therefore, the filter has to work. There are two types

of filters – a passive filter and another that uses electricity. We don’t want the system

that would use electricity because we want to save on the purchase of water but we

will now pay for electricity to power the filter. We want a filter that’s passive. But the

problem with a passive filter is it can only accommodate a specific amount of water at

a time.

Let’s say we have a strong rainfall like in a typhoon. Here, the water cannot be

properly filtered. What will work is a system with a bladder through which the water

passes before it passes through a sediment filter and before it is stored.

This is the system we have implemented here at UP Baguio. So we looked for a

passive filter that does not use electricity and could filter the water even at a high

volume, like what we experience during heavy rainfall. The filter must be able to

eliminate the leaves or small stones that may accompany the heavy rains.

Water that reaches the cistern must be clean already. And we can also choose to

have an additional filter in order to make the water potable. I hear that Dr. Chelo has

been working on special filters for water. Rainwater can be used to flush the toilet

and even to do laundry although it is brownish. In order that rainwater becomes

potable, it is necessary that it goes through another process of purification.

PROJECT LEADER: Engr. Albert, what do you look for in the building plans containing

water catchments?

CBAO: For a high-rise building, we check for the presence of a cistern and the presence of a

filter.

48

CHEMIST: Since, I am from Pangasinan, I found out that one of the largest zeolite mining

area is located in Pangasinan. There is a company that has been allowed to mine so

many hectares with zeolite deposits and this company is now selling water filters that

are zeolite-based.

This is the idea that I suggested to Dr. Ciencia. What if we come up with a design,

where ‘gray water’ (i.e., gray water is water that comes from a first use by someone

who took a bath or water that has been used for laundry) is transformed after passing

through a water filter to be still usable also for bathing and for laundry by a second

user. Of course, I am not suggesting that the filtering process can make the ‘gray

water’ good enough to drink. I think that it is still difficult to convince people that

water from bathing and washing clothes can be filtered into drinking water. I am

thinking of an example where the water used for bathing and laundry by someone on

the top floor gets filtered into water that can also be used for bathing and laundry by

persons occupying the next floor below.

I have read studies like one on Utaca County, Minnesota, where zeolite filters are

used to treat surface water coming from the bay. They store water in a large storage

facility before distributing the water to the households in the community using

‘modified’ zeolite. They call this ‘modified’ zeolite because they combine ethane oxide

with zeolite in order to improve the absorbing capacity of the water filter. They also

claim that the sludge is lessened and therefore they are not afraid that the storage

tanks will be filled with sludge. They actually monitor the system over time to check

on the capability and efficiency of the water filters that they use. Perhaps, we can do

something like that here. But I do not know how we can do this.

PROJECT LEADER: What is the process of water filtration? What does it achieve in terms

of water quality?

GEOLOGIST: From a technical perspective, actually the rainwater is cleaner than any other

water source, even until now, especially for Baguio City. Dr. Agulo’s analysis of the

chemistry confirms that rainwater in Baguio is fine.

CHEMIST: So Baguio has no acid rain?

GEOLOGIST: I do not expect acid rain in Baguio. In our project about evaluation of Hazards,

the status of water is part of what we look into. [Dr. Chelo Pascual shows an aerial

view of UP Baguio).

From this aerial view, we can begin to design rainwater collection systems. What we

can generate the digital elevation model like a 3D model where the landscape

consists of aerial images. In the case of UP Baguio, this is the highest point and this

is the lowest point, the main concern is where to locate the rainwater harvesting

elements. Will you use the roof tops of the building? What filters will be installed?

There are commercially available filters, of different capacities, which can take out

most of the particulates, even if these are already in micrometer size.

49

There is not much of particulate matter here in Baguio City because of its altitude.

Particulate matter of about 300 micrometers does not reach here. Perhaps, these are

already captured by the vegetation. Therefore, I suggest that in the design of

rainwater collection and the filtration of rainwater that you include the growing of

plants that can also function to capture particulate matter.

Another concern of any filtration system is what to do with matter that was not

dissolved or eliminated by the filters and thus will require a chemical method,

primarily the process of coagulation especially for large particles.

The zeolite is not really a filter in itself but it is an element of a filtration medium. It is

made for ion exchange, or to dissolve some components. But there is need to

regenerate the zeolite after many uses. The zeolite-based filter is also used for waste

treatment from piggery and poultry as this is a standard part of sewer treatment. The

zeolite comes in different sizes. However, this is not really usable to obtain potable

water. It seems that the zeolite produced here is not ‘pure’ zeolite like what you find

abroad.

Let me inform you also about a DOST-funded project which I worked on. This was

primarily a project for Disaster Response. I am not sure it will be useful for what you

are thinking about in your current project. But let me explain what we did. We made

ceramic filters that should be able to filter water – even drainage water – into potable

water in the quickest amount of time because it is a response to disasters and

emergencies.

What we designed was a stand-alone system which is a bit expensive. The needs

during Typhoon Yolanda had four (4) components requiring zero-hour response. First

there is water, then a source of electricity or energy source, then food that is ready to

eat and the last one is waste management, i.e., fecal waste.

Our project was a response to the need for potable water. We are using ceramics

because they can be used for a very long time. These ceramics are not the same

ceramic filters that you can buy at SM Baguio. This ceramic is special and therefore

expensive. In fact, DOST did not want to fund this project because it found the cost of

the ceramic filter very expensive. In ensuring potable water – and even bath water

may be required to be potable because you can ingest water while bathing you – you

require a filter with a porosity value of as low as one (1) micron because you want to

be able to remove even bacteria. If the water contains bacteria, this can accumulate

or it can die after a few days BUT this can be ingested meanwhile and people will

suffer from diarrhea.

There are two filtration mechanisms. The one that you buy at SM Baguio is what

they call a dead-end filtration – one that actually traps the particles or your

contaminants. You have to replace this every 1,000 liters or every 6 months,

whichever comes first. There is also the cross flow filtration – the one that rejects the

contaminants. This is more complicated because it requires better filter material to

implement the task.

50

DOST, also, has its own ceramic filter, colored red. But the filter actually degrades

when it is wet and therefore it is practically useless as a filter. The filter which we

used in our project is much more durable and it is as hard as a block of cement. For

the general pupose of obtaining potable water, the filter can eliminate from 1 to 10

microns of particles including bacteria. The first generation of ceramic filters that we

used can produce about 300 ml of potable water per minute. This volume, we tried

to increase. This is the type that we first deployed 2 to 3 days after the typhoon in

Leyte. What we had constructed in the laboratory, we set-up in the field. We placed a

solar panel to speedily dry the filtration system and the murky water coming from the

drain was used.

Actually the water in the blue pail which has passed through the filtaration process

that we developed passed the standard for drinking water. Secretary Montero of

DOST was happy with the result and he ordered 10 units. We were able to sell

several units at Palo, Leyte.

People thought that water from the drainage or sewer system that we used for our

filtration system was really dirty. However, after the typhoon with many dead bodies

on the ground and not yet properly buried, the water from the sewer system was

much cleaner than the surface water that may have been contaminated by rotting

bodies.

We set out to deploy 10 more units with smaller and thinner filters which allowed

more water to be produced by the system. The whole system is also portable

including the 2 solar panels. That’s why we called it later the PWEDE Project or

Portable Potable Water Equipment for Disasters and Emergencies. Unfortunately,

the system was not ‘puwede’ for the DOST because it was judged too expensive.

There is a demand from establishments from Baguio City, particularly the hotels but

we have no funds to undertake the manufacturing of the system. For now, we are still

concentrating on getting partnerships, like the military units because they are the first

responder teams.

The Armed Forces Research and Development Corp approached us to produce a

tactical version of our system. They would like a filtration system that can make the

water from the river potable to drink. In times of disaster, the 42,000 barangays all

over the country will have to wait for the Mayor to request the DSWD to release relief

goods including bottled water. This can take about 1 to 2 weeks before potable

water is available for a population.

As a technology developer for potable water, we can actually provide a system. This

depends on your budget and what your requirements are for the speed of the system

to produce potable water. We can help each other particularly in preparing for a

disaster.

CEPMO: During the earthquake of 1990, the Baguio Water District had 4 deepwells that

continued functioning and so BWD distributed water.

51

GEOLOGIST: That’s good. But we are preparing for a ‘worse scenario’ where all

infrastructure has been rendered useless. Then we need a system usable at the

household level. Our system is zero-hour response and if this is complemented by a

rain harvesting mechanism, the household can rely on this sytem for their daily

needs. For larger groups of people, perhaps a publicly managed filtration system

can be put in place that uses the water of Burnham Lake and using the lake as an

impounding structure for rainwater.

CEPMO: In that case, there is also the technology available from AUSAID which used the

water from Burnham Lake and processed this into potable water for drinking.

I suggest that we define the use of the harvested rainwater. If the use of the water is

for secondary uses like flushing the toilet, watering the plants, the task of treating the

water is cheaper. However, if we want the rain water to be potable and good enough

for drinking and cooking, the costs of treating the water is higher.

PROJECT LEADER: Let me remind you that during the validation conference in December

2015, one of the dangers of impounding water which then becomes stagnant water,

is the possibility that this becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and therefore it

increases the possibility of causing the spread of mosquito-borned diseases, how do

you address that?

CHEMIST: Yes, that is a legitimate concern. In case of rainwater, it could be affected by

microbes as well as pathogens. Remember that Baguio has many hospitals and it is

possible that rainwater is contaminated by pathogens. Therefore, the rainwater

catchment must have bio filters to avoid the rainwater from being contaminated. Even

when we do not drink the water if this is used to wash dishes it is possible for the

contamination to reach persons through their hands.

ARCHITECT: For the UP Baguio system, our initial goal was to reuse gray water also.

However due to budget constraints we focused on rainwater harvesting. When we

can afford the filter that can make the water potable, then that will be better.

But as of now, we are concentrated on collection – ensuring that there is storage for

water. We just started the basic infrastructure for collecting water. Water will be

collected from the GI roofs not the flat roofs. In this plan, as you see here around all

the buildings, you have pipelines. The pipelines vary in sizes. There are rainwater

collection tanks, polyethylene tanks with a capacity of 10,000 liters each. With 14

tanks, we have 140,000 liters of water.

If the goal of the rainwater collection system is self-sufficiency for UP Baguio’s water

needs we need to consider the demand for water by 2,500 students plus faculty and

staff. 140,000 liters is not even sufficient to supply the school’s needs during the dry

season or 6 months. It is possible that this amount is consumed in only one month.

Howeve we can start here and then we can expand this capacity by adding more

storage facilities in the future. Also, we can make all the toilets more efficient for

flushing, e.g., let’s say the 6 liter per flush becomes 3 or even 2 liters per flush.

52

At the same time, we are constructing service trenches for electrical, plumbing,

communications lines. We took the opportunity as well to establish links between the

buildings so that they can be connected with pipes. [Resource person shows the

design of the service trench.] We will use pavers, which can be removed and then

put back in. Using porous pavers will allow the groundwater to be replenished. Here

is a design of the trench. This is the one with the pavement and here is the other

without the pavement. We will use pea gravel not sand.

We also made a design for manholes. We also will remedy the fact that all pipes

sold in the Philippines are colored orange. This can cause confusion for future

construction work where without the distinguishing colors, the sewer line is mistaken

for the rainwater line. We will do something to be able to color the rainwater line

green.

We are using 10,000-liter tanks embedded underground. A concrete tank can be

damaged during an earthquake. There is also the issue of water proofing. The use of

polyethylene will make the material last a very long time without degrading.

This is the 3D layout (shows images) - this is the rainwater filter. The rainwater goes

directly from the roof to the storage facility. Water can overflow to the next tank if

necessary. In between the tanks are the manholes for maintenance. We wanted a

system that is “install and forget” because sometimes maintenance is a major

concern. We are trying to ensure that the tanks only need to be cleaned every 20

years.

We expect minute particles in water. The water filter will solve this problem. We

adapted a filtration system that is a bit expensive because it is made in Germany. But

this is the product that passed our evaluation and it can qualify under the bidding

rules of the Philippine government.

GEOLOGIST: How large is the filter?

ARCHITECT: Here it is (shows an image). This is the biggest one. Some are smaller. This

is chosen to match the size of the building. There is a stop valve which will restrain

the water from overflowing when the level of the water reaches the top of the tank.

The filtering system is passive and does not use any electricity. The system uses a

sediment filter and will not be able to remove microbes. The system uses centrifugal

force to do filtering and the biggest pore is 6mm.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: May I ask a question? What are the costs of this system in order to

invest in it? What are the benefits to acquiring such a system?

ARCHITECT: (Resource person shows an image of a vortex filtration system)

How much does this cost for UP? Php 28 million for the pipes and everything. We

have to replace the existing 3-inch pipes with 4-inch pipes for this system to work.

CHEMIST: Does the total amount you mentioned include labor costs?

53

ARCHITECT: Yes. The contract for the buildings and plumbing is a separate contract from

the filtering system because the filter alone costs Php 10 million.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: The system that you describe works for a large institution. For an

individual household, this is expensive. For these households, the only thing they

can do is to improve the way that they catch the water from their roof and gutters.

They have to put some filter that will clean the water. Is that the only thing we can do

at the level of individual houses?

ARCHITECT: We can try to design a filtering system that matches the size of the

household. For examples there is a design using a slow sand filter but this is not so

efficient. However, there is a sediment filter that can function as the first stage of

filtration.

GEOLOGIST: The problem with sand filters is that this has to be regenerated after some

time. And the cost of regenerating the sand filters can cost as much as replacing

them.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: In our study, most people are not worrying anymore about whether

the water they get through the tap is potable or not because they can buy drinking

water. They assume that the purified drinking water that they purchase is safe to

drink. Therefore, if the household is interested in harvesting rainwater for other

domestic uses like laundry and flushing the toilet, do we still have to worry about the

filter? Can a simpler and less costly filter work?

CEPMO: We agree that the use of the water is critical in designing the filtering system to be

recommended for the use of an individual household. If the harvested water is for

flushing the toilet or watering plants, there is no need for filters. If it is used for

bathing and even laundry, some filtering process is needed. And if the harvested

water is going to be used for drinking, the water must be purified and not just filtered.

ARCHITECT: If we are to encourage the use of rainwater for domestic purposes, we need

to make the task less laborious. This is achieved when rainwater is also piped into

the house. For example, even when rainwater is available in containers outside of the

house, people will probably use the water in the toilet tank to flush instead of using

the rainwater collected outside.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: I agree that it is a process that saves on labor that is attractive to

people and they can be convinced to adapt the suggested process. And it is also

risky for persons to be carrying pails of water.

ARCHITECT: So it might be good to design a system where the tanks are overhead and

then the system works through gravity.

GEOLOGIST: At what level – household, sitio, barangay – are you proposing to use the

filtering process?

54

CO-PROJECT LEADER: What we are trying to understand is if we can convince individual

households to adapt better ways of using and conserving water. If households are

wasteful in the use of the water, there is place for us to change that wasteful

behaviour. If, on the other hand, the household is already recycling and re-using

water, how can we make the practices they have become even better.

When it comes to the system proposed by Prof. Pascual or Architect Go, these

require some major change in the way their houses are built. Are there even simpler

water filtering processes that are easy to adapt to the existing situation of their

residences?

GEOLOGIST: Most of the existing technologies are applicable at the level of an institution

rather than at the level of a household. From our experience, all or many

technologies that we’ve developed for the past 8 years when offered to households

are rejected because they see these as expensive even if these households are able

to purchase mobile phones. It appears that the need to acquire an individual

purification system is not yet felt.

ARCHITECT: Is it possible to ask the City of Baguio to pass an ordinance to require

households to acquire a purification system?

CONSULTANT: But if there is no incentive for the household aside from the ordinance, they

would just do as they please and they will not care about implementing the ordinance

anyway.

PROJECT LEADER: Can we ask CEPMO and Health Services Office what they can do with

water refilling stations that do not pass the standards for water samples? What are

your experiences in enforcing compliance to water quality standards? It appears that

water samples from refilling stations are voluntarily brought for water testing. Is this

not mandatory?

HSO: There are some refilling stations that fail the chemical test, too.

PROJECT LEADER: If they fail the test, can they still continue operating?

HSO: No, we advise the owner to stop temporarily until such time that everything is in order

again.

PROJECT LEADER: What if the establishment does not follow your advice?

HSO: That is where we rely on the health inspector to monitor the establishment’s

compliance with the advice of the Health Office. And there is also the need for the

establishment to seek clearance from the Health Office when it applies to renew its

business permit annually. We can then also check whether the establishment

complied.

PROJECT LEADER: Are the water tests mandatory or voluntary?

55

HSO: The water tests are mandatory. They are required to conduct monthly microbiological

tests and the physico-chemical tests every 6 months.

GEOLOGIST: Even if you use a filtration system that can remove the matured bacterial cell

– that is about 1 micron onwards in size, there are spores. And spores are not

eliminated by the filter. The only way to kill spores is by ozonation.

HSO: That is where they use UV light.

GEOLOGIST: That is right. Ozonation is a process where spores are eliminated by a UV

lamp of 10 watts and used at a rate of 1-2 gallons/minute. The UV lamp is good for 6

months in a continuous system. It costs Php 3,500.

The problem is you cannot see UV. And because you can not see UV, it is possible

to be using fake UV lamps. There are 3 levels of UV: UV, UVA and UVC. Now what

kills spores is UV light with 250 nanometers in wavelength because that is the one

that is bactericidal.

GEOLOGIST: So if one can see a blue light, the level of UV light may be inadequate and

this will not actually kill the bacteria.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: The conclusion to make from this discussion is that there should

be a strict supervision of the water refilling stations because people believe that the

water that they purchase from these stations is safe to drink. We need to ensure that

the water from refilling stations is safe to drink because you cannot make people

install their own individual water purification system.

HSO: Yes, that is true. We rely on the honesty of the owners to ensure the safety of the

water they are selling using their own water purification system. Our office cannot

monitor them 24/7.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Is it possible to think of a process of monitoring like giving these

stations a scorecard that records how many times they are found not complying or

how many times they consistently comply? For example, when they do not pass the

tests a certain number of times, the permit is not renewed. Will this help to ensure

that the water refilling stations are complying appropriately with the standards?

HSO: Yes. One way for the HSO to monitor compliance with the standards is that they

have to submit their monthly bacteriological test aside from the results of the one that

HSO conducts during its own inspection visits.

GEOLOGIST: Are bacteriological tests done at HSO?

HSO: No. The samples are submitted to a DOST-accredited laboratory. Owners complain

that the Php 3800 fee for tests is expensive.

GEOLOGIST: What about tests for water contaminants like trace elements like arsenic or

mercury? Can the health office test for these, too?

56

HSO: Actually HSO does not have the kind of equipment to test for trace elements. We

usually send the water samples for this test to the Regional Office of DOH. At

present, we are also applying for the chemical test accreditation but because we do

not have a chemist, we have not yet received the accreditation. We need to have a

resident chemist at the office before being accredited.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Oh, there is no chemist at the HSO in Baguio?

HSO: None. Even the Baguio Water District does not have a resident chemist and that is

why they are also not accredited to conduct chemical tests for water.

GEOLOGIST: Allow me to give a very good example of the lack of the capacity to conduct

water tests. The World Health Organization standards require that the arsenic

concentration in drinking water should be below 50 ppb. There is only one laboratory

in the whole Philippines that can establish this for water and that is the National

Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) at UP Diliman. Even the DOH does not have

this kind of capability.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Does this mean that there are water quality standards that we

cannot test ourselves?

HSO: That is why we only recommend tests that can be undertaken here. It is useless to

recommend tests that cannot be done. The costs of the texts can be exorbitant if we

require them all because there are 51 indicators to test for. Nobody can afford all

these tests.

GEOLOGIST: For trace elements, it is Php 300 per test per trace element.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: So no one really knows for sure the quality of our drinking water?

HSO: No. However, we have no cases yet of chemical poisoning from the ingestion of

water. But we are not really sure that there are no poisonous chemicals in our water

because it takes time for this outcome to reveal itself.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: We have to try to understand what it is we are making people do.

We are trying to understand why we are requiring all of these. Maybe that’s what we

should make people understand. There are certain things about water that we cannot

even test. As of now, it is only the presence of bacteria that the water tests can

clearly establish as absent or present.

PROJECT LEADER: Can we ask CEPMO what are their responsibilities with regard to

water harvesting, purification, or ensuring safe water?

CEPMO: Our office is in-charge of the sewer system. We take care of supervising the

management of waste water.

PROJECT LEADER: How many households in Baguio are connected to the sewer system?

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CEPMO: Around 24 per cent of the population.

PROJECT LEADER: Where are these households located?

CEPMO: Along the Central Business District, along the tributaries to the Balili River system.

PROJECT LEADER: Are there plans to expand the coverage of the system?

CEPMO: Yes, we have a plan. The feasibility study has just been completed for the

establishment of a treatment facility for waste water at Lower Rock Quarry and also

at the Irisan site.

PROJECT LEADER: A treatment facilty for waste water is where the contents of septic

tanks are made harmless.

CEPMO: Yes, that is correct. Someone delivers the contents of the septic tanks to this

treatment facility.

PROJECT LEADER: May I also ask if there is any government plan to make the City Camp

Lagoon function as a water impounding place?

HSO: Yes, there was such a proposal in the past but nothing about it has been heard about

recently. It is possible that there is a change of mind on this matter.

GEOLOGIST: Whatever wastewater that is generated by Baguio goes to several rivers.

There is the Bauang River to which the Balili River drains. That is in La Union. Then

there is the Bued River along Kennon Road which goes to Pangasinan. Much of the

wastewater we find in the lowlands are draining from the Baguio City area.

CEPMO: That is right. In fact, the water from here should be clean as it flows to the

lowlands. However, the pollution of water sources here in Baguio is higher.

GEOLOGIST: The pollution will not stop at the Bauang River because it can affect the

Amburayan River at the boundary of La Union with Ilocos Sur.

CEPMO: Let us look at an example. The value of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

concentration in water collected around an inlet close to Rock Quarry and City Camp

is 290 mg per liter. When the BOD concentration is measured for water at Crystal

Cave, it is already 4 mg per liter.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Was there a filtering process that took place?

CEPMO: The filtering process happened as the water passed through a tunnel along the

distance from Rock Quarry to Crystal Cave.

PROJECT LEADER: Are we saying that nature contributes to this process?

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HSO: Is there an economic advantage to using harvested rainwater compared to using

water delivery services and/or being connected to BWD? Perhaps that is what we

can inform people about. Then they are guided in making a choice about their water

source depending on what they use water for.

CONSULTANT: I am glad that you brought up the advantage or disadvantage of costs of

different water sources. Let us take the proposal of Dr. Pascua for a household to

adopt a water purification system that is efficient but expensive. We know that a

household cannot afford to purchase this in one payment. Suppose that there can be

a ‘financing’ system that will enable the household to pay for this over 10 years at an

interest rate of 10 to 12 per cent? Suppose that the cost is Php 100,000, payable in

10 years at Php 10,000 annually. That means a little less than 1,000 a month. If you

compare this to the minimum water charge of Php 380 a month, it is clear that

connection to BWD is a superior choice. We are back to asking what is the incentive

of a household to adopt a water purification system when there are clearly cheaper

alternatives existing.

HSO: Perhaps, we should also consider along with other economic costs, the costs of

treatment or hospitalization due to ailments that afflict people because of the

consumption of unsafe water.

CONSULTANT: May I return to the filtering system presented by Archiect Go? How much is

the cost of the storage tank?

ARCHITECT: For a 1 thousand-liter tank, it can cost from Php 9 to 15 thousand, depending

on the supplier. A one-thousand-liter tank can supply a household’s water needs for

one week.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Does that not depend on how many people there are in a

household and how frequently they take a bath?

GEOLOGIST: Let us say that a person uses 100 liters a day and there are 4 persons in the

household. That amount will last for about 2-3 days maximum.

PROJECT LEADER: What about the cost of the pipes?

CONSULTANT: That will cost around Php 30,000.

ARCHITECT: One of the costs is the cost of pumping the water.

PROJECT LEADER: That would be the cost of electricity.

ARCHITECT: First, you will have to bring up the water before it goes down the system

through gravity. In order to do the first task, you need a structure. It is not possible

to simply set the storage on top of your house because that storage tank can weigh

one ton.

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GEOLOGIST: I was just reminded about a PAGIBIG loan of Php 120,000 payable in 20

years that was suppose to be possible for the installation of solar panels in the

construction of a house. Maybe, a similar proposal can be made to finance the

installation of a rainwater harvesting system with purification. It is like a ‘water system

sustainability home improvement loan’.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: That is exactly what we are thinking about. When some process

or technology that a household can adopt is too expensive, are there ways of

assisting them? We all realize that if we are going to convince people to adopt a

process, we need to let them know about the costs so they can determine if this is

something that they could afford.

HSO: A proposal with financing may only apply to households that possess titles to their

homes. We know that in Baguio City, there are many residents without formal titles

to the lots on which their houses stand. Without land titles, it will be very difficult to

get loans.

ARCHITECT: We can also explore a design that can be adopted by a small community.

When a barangay has a basketball court built next to the barangay hall, the

basketball court of about 400 square meters may have a cistern underneath it. The

cistern becomes the storage of a purification and filtration system of a network of

pipes that distributes water to the households of the barangay.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: This is an example of a proposal that can be brought to the

barangay. One can propose to the barangay to invest in a water filtration and

storage system.

GEOLOGIST: Actually we were selling a water filtration system for Php 50,000. The system

taps water from a drainage canal, it uses solar panels to produce power, and it has a

24-hour monitoring system for monitoring. The system includes centrifugal pumps

that works 24/7 from battery power that is recharged through the solar panels. The

whole system costs Php 50,000. Included in the price is technical support for 5 years.

The barangays refused because they wanted the national government to finance the

acquisition of this system.

CEPMO: That is also true for the sewer line. It is already located close to a house. All the

owner of the house has to do is pay for a pipe that will connect the house to the

sewer line. Even that can not be done.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: That confirms the need to understand what makes people do

certain actions. Why are ordinances not followed? Is it the cost of doing something?

What will convince them to exert effort or spend more money to adopt a process or

practice? Giving answers to these questions is really the difficult part.

ARCHITECT: Is it possible to bring down the cost of the pump and the system itself to a low

enough level that the costs will now be comparable to paying for water delivery

services? If yes, then that may now look appealing to some households.

60

GEOLOGIST: There is also the matter of convenience. The water delivery services can be

contacted through a text message. When it comes to solar energy, the initial cash

outlay of Php 120,000 is large but this will last for 20 years.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: I think that people may have to form a group to enable the viable

operation of a water purification system in a community. Suppose this is the

barangay level, what would be the minimum number of households required so that a

barangay will find the adoption of a purification system affordable?

HSO: Yes, we can follow the advice of Architect Go to suggest that the barangay be the

one to adopt a water purification system if and when this is feasible rather than

targeting households directly.

PROJECT LEADER: The next phase of this study is to work at the community level where

we can pilot test rainwater harvesting or water purification. The initial focus of the

project was to contribute recommendations to improve the services of BWD. We

thought that if this is achieved then the water security issues of Baguio residents will

be solved. However, our survey showed that Baguio residents relied on different

water sources, followed practices to collect rainwater and purchased drinking water

from refilling stations.

If this is the case, perhaps one path of analysis is to compare the costs to the

households of using different sources of their water. Such an approach will allow us

to inform households how much it will cost them if they improve rainwater harvesting

instead of relying on water purchased from water refilling stations with the assurance

that the water from this source complies with national standards for drinking water. If

the household practices water-recycling and rainwater harvesting together with its

BWD connection, how much savings can be generated? It is time to stop thinking

that there is only one way – BWD connection that Baguio residents obtain water for

domestic uses.

ARCHITECT: I agree that there is a level above the individual or individual household where

the technology has to operate. This means, we need to think of providing public

goods and not just expect people to purchase for private consumption. There are

some things that are inefficiently produced if we expect private individuals to bear the

costs, i.e., each household has a water filtration and purification system. It is

certainly more efficient when this water purification system is made operational at the

level of the barangay or even the municipality. Perhaps, in this case, the household

can focus on the efficient use of water. For example, instead of using a shower that

uses water at 12 liters per minute, we design one that uses only 1.5 gallons per

minute. Then we encourage households to adopt this more economical shower for

their use.

STUDY LEADER: Why not use the old-fashioned ‘tabo’’?

ARCHITECT: The ‘tabo’ for bathing uses more water at 1 liter per second.

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CHEMIST: Why not target households that are not able to access the services of BWD?

These households may be more open to the adoption of a rainwater harvesting

system.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: That is correct. There are areas in Baguio like Kias and Irisan

where we can explore the suggestion of Prof. Giron.

STUDY LEADER: Or we can target barangays where water from BWD is just impossible to

deliver.

PROJECT LEADER: Allow me to summarize what we have discussed so far.

(1) The City has no ordinances encouraging or mandating water

impoundment. However, the City has resolutions about this.

(2) In the case of CBAO, they implement some of these ordinances affecting

buildings, i.e., that there are cisterns, etc. But even if CBAO checks the

presence of cisterns in building plans it cannot confirm or check whether

these cisterns were actually built. Since the ordinance or resolution applies

only to new buildings, how does the City encourage owners of existing

buildings to adopt the practice of rainwater harvesting?

(3) It has been shown that the technologies for rainwater harvesting and water

purification exist already but these are too expensive for individual

households to adopt but these can be made affordable if larger groups of

households are organized as the recipients of the system.

(4) We need to contribute to efforts to protect our watershed and to inform and

convince households to systematically follow water conservation practices.

The next phase of our study that includes the pilot testing of a system for water

purification has become clearer to us. We will carry this out in a place where BWD

services are not available and hopefully the community members are more open to

cooperate with us.

ARCHITECT: One more issue that we need to resolve is the functionality of a water

harvesting system throughout the year. We can only store so much water based on

the capacity of the storage tanks of the system that we install. The rains come only

6-7 months in a year. How will the harvesting system work the rest of the year when

there are no rains? During such a period, the system is useless. Therefore the size of

the storage becomes the critical issue. And when you have a storage system, there

is also the concern to keep the water free of contamination that can cause diseases.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Are you saying that the system you described – where the tanks

are completely closed – there is the possibility of the water to breed mosquitioes?

ARCHITECT: Yes, they are completely closed with concrete all around.

CO-PROJECT LEADER: Will mosquitoes still thrive in that environment?

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STUDY LEADER: Our concern is not mosquitoes but other harmful microorganisms.

CHEMIST: This is probably another reason why the barangay or the municipality is the

authority in charge of operating the water harvesting system.

GEOLOGIST: One can probably work on a design for a water harvesting system using a

mobile container van.

ARCHITECT: Here at UP, the most difficult issue is the storage capacity large enough to

store water that will last for 6 months of consumption. That is why, we are thinking of

proposing the recycling of grey water

CHEMIST: If this study will still have another phase, can you focus on identifying possible

pollutants of the water depending on the water source?

PROJECT LEADER: We have many more questions to ask. But we will do that when we

visit you at your respective offices soon. We thank you for taking the time and

helping us in determining the direction of our study.

-end-

ATTENDANCE/Legend

No. NAME POSITION OFFICE

1 Dr. Ofelia D. Giron (Chemist) Associate Professor CS, UP Baguio

2 Engr. Moises C. Lozano (CEPMO) Engineer IV WAMD – City Environment

and Parks Management

Office

3 Engr. Candido S. De Los Santos

(HSO)

Engineer IV Health Services Office

4 Engr. Sofronio R. Pascua

(CEPMO)

Engineer II WAMD – CEPMO

5 Gladys A. Cruz (Study Leader) Study Leader UP Baguio

6 Dr. Chelo S. Pascua (Geologist) Associate Professor UP Baguio

7 Engr. Albert M. Pay-an (CBAO) Engineer I City Buildings and

Architect’s Office

8 Dr. Michael Cabalfin Project Consultant Freelance Consultant

9 Dr. Lorelei C. Mendoza Co-Project Leader CSS, UP Baguio

10 Aris Go (Architect) President, UAP 90 Design Studio

11 Vincent Cabreza Reporter Philippine Daily Inquirer

12 Dr. Alejandro Ciencia Project Leader UP Baguio

13 Rebecca Follosco Research Assistant UP Baguio

63

ANNEX C: DOCUMENTATION OF THE

FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS (FGDs) ON IMPLEMENTING

WATER QUALITY STANDARDS &

REGULATING WATER EXTRACTION ACTIVITIES KTRC, UP BAGUIO ON 7 JULY 2016

Project Leader: We are doing a study on water security. This is actually the second phase

of the water security project. The first phase was funded by IIED of London, the second

phase is being funded by ICLEI and our partner is the Baguio City Government. The

ICLEI has funded LGU initiatives on resolving water issues. For example the efforts in

drafting the Baguio Water Code were supported by ICLEI.

Today, we will have a morning session that will focus on a discussion regarding

improving water quality, specifically the quality of drinking water in Baguio. In particular,

let us discuss how the quality of water distributed by water refilling stations is being

monitored and regulated. We will also describe the accreditation process for water

refilling stations to begin and continue operations. In the afternoon, our discussion will

cover the concerns regarding the extraction from ground water such as the possible

problem of over-extraction and the un-monitored drilling for deep wells by private

individuals for personal or even commercial use.

Allow me to introduce the members of the research team. This is the same project team

that also worked on Phase One. The survey of phase one was about obtaining data to

describe the water situation in Baguio City from the point of view of households. This

year for Phase two, we again conducted a survey whose focus was the water security

or insecurity experienced by poor households.

May I request those present to introduce yourselves, the offices you represent and

describe the functions and responsibilities of the office and your individual responsibility

in this office.

CEPMO: I’m Erick from CEPMO. It is my work to make an inventory of water refilling stations

and deepwells. I review the water permit application referred to our office by the

NWRB.

CEPMO#2: I am Iya, Sir. I work on the project on the Rehabilitation of the Balili River and

look into how to control and manage the in-landwater waste that drains into the Balili

River.

CEPMO#3: I am Wilbur Suanding. I am in charge of monitoring the operation of the Baguio

sewage system and the analysis of water sources including rivers.

Project Leader: Let us focus our discussion on the specific question of ensuring water

quality in Baguio. Are their procedures to ensure water quality? Are these procedures

enforced and by whom or what agencies?

Please describe the pertinent procedures and requirements as prescribed by local

government policies in relation to ensuring water quality. Are these made known to

those who apply to get permits, or by those who wish to get accredited as refilling

64

stations? Are these procedures known to staff of government agencies responsible for

issuing such permits? Let us focus on what is contained in government procedures and

requirements.

The second issue that we will turn to is responsibility. As prescribed by law or

government policy, who sees to it that procedures are followed or that requirements are

met? Is there a clear delineation of functions or responsibilities among agencies

involved in the process?

For example, if one reads the Baguio Water Code, there are many local and national

government agencies involved, however, is there aclear delineation of each one’s task

and function? Also, within each government agency, is there a clear definition of the

tasks of each member of the office? Apart from delineation, there is also the need for

coordination. Is there coordination of functions by pertinent offices and their personnel

in practice? And of course, there is the issue of compliance. Baguio has just passed in

June of this year the Environmental Code. We already have a Water Code. If one reads

these codes, they have good provisions but are these provisions being implemented? Is

there compliance with standards and requirements imposed by these Codes? Finally,

there is also the issue of expertise. In practice, do the personnel have the expertise

required by their position or their responsibilities?

For example, there is a requirement for water tests. Who are the offices responsible for

conducting these tests? If the local offices are not capable of the tests required, where

else can these tests be undertaken? Does complying with tests cost a lot? Therefore, if

there are costs in the application process, do these costs encourage or discourage

compliance?

These are the themes around which our discussion today will focus. Let us not limit

ourselves to defining the ‘what’ but let us also describe the ‘why’ of each question.

Co-project leader: Let’s focus on water quality. There are standards and the standards

have to do with drinking water, right? What do these standards accomplish? Do all

systems of water distribution in the city comply with these standards? We assume that

BWD complies in providing potable water to households. We also assume that water

refilling stations comply. Do water delivery services comply? We cannot always figure

out very clearly who is in charge of ensuring that the water quality is achieved by all

agents responsible for drinking water. Frederick (of CEPMO), Isee that your office has

an inventory of water refilling stations. Do you obtain this information by conducting a

survey of existing stations?

CEPMO: Yes ma’am, we conduct a survey in order to have information in an inventory.

Co-project leader: Do you mean to say that you do a survey in order that your office will

have a list?

CEPMO: Yes, ma’am.

Co-project leader: Since these are establishments with a business permit? They need to

pass the water test in order that they can continue operating or in order that they can

obtain a renewal of their business permit?

65


Co-project leader: So is it required that they obtain a document from your office before they

process the renewal of their business permits?

CEPMO: No, ma’am.

Co-project leader: You do not issue anything? Not even a clearance?

CEPMO#2: No, ma’am.

CEPMO: None, ma’am. We just produce an inventory.

CEPMO#2: For the renewal of business permit, the license to operate a business is issued

by the Mayor’s Office, and then for the building that will be used for the refilling station, it

is CBAO that approves and then whether the water quality complies with standards, it is

the Health Services Office that will accredit the business.

Co-project leader: Ok, let’s review what you just said. For example, I want to put up a

refilling station. In order to operate, I have to have a business permit, so that’s the first

requirement. Before I get a business permit, I should have a document from CBAO

because I have a structure.

CEPMO#2: Yes

Co-project leader: Then what does the CEPMO issue the applicant for a refilling station?

CEPMO: The Occupancy Permit, ma’am.

Co-project leader: Your office is the one that issues the occupancy permit for the refilling

station?


Co-project leader: Then what does the Baguio Health Department (BHD) have to do with

this application?

CEPMO: The BHD will give the clearance that the refilling station is capable of providing

water that complies with the standards for drinking water.

CEPMO#2: Not only that ma’am. The BHD also inspects the sanitation of the place to see if

it complies with standards on sanitation.

Co-project leader: One of things we are trying to understand is the quality of the water

source of these refilling stations. Some refilling stations appear to have a water source

nearby where they obtain water that they purify. But we also observe that there are

refilling stations whose water is delivered to them, right?

CEPMO: Yes, the water can come from BWD and the refilling station will filter and purify this

water using its own purification system consisting of as much as 27 steps.

Co-project leader: If you say that some refilling stations use water from BWD, then we can

assume that the quality of the water is like the one Baguio households get from their

66

BWD line. So, we might conclude that the quality of the water source is complying with

standards. But what if the water source of the refilling station is NOT from BWD? We

are told that there are water delivery services whose owners have their own water

source that is not BWD. Is that correct?

CEPMO: That is correct, ma’am.

Co-project leader: Therefore, does the inventory list in your office have information on what

the source of water is for a specific refilling station?

CEPMO: Yes ma’am.

CEPMO#3: These matters are covered by PD 856 or the Code of Sanitation. The water

refilling stations are regulated by the Health Services Office.

Co-project leader: You’re telling us that the Sanitation Law also covers the operation of

water refilling stations.

CEPMO#3: Yes, ma’am. PD856 or the Sanitation Code of the Philippines is there.

Co-project leader: Let us go back to the Water Code. Is it correct to say that the Code is

now being implemented in Baguio?

CEPMO#3: Yes, ma’am. The Water Code applies specifically to water resources and not the

water refilling stations.

Co-project leader: Do you mean to say that the Water Code does not have anything to

dowith water quality - because the Water Code has a section called Water Quality

Section. There is also a section on the Philippine standards for drinking water. And this

has to be complied with, right? The matter of sanitation is being monitored by the

Baguio Health Services, is that correct?

CEPMO#3: Yes, ma’am.

Co-project leader: So the Baguio Water Code follows the national regulations but makes

them specific in application to Baguio?

CEPMO#3: Yes.

Co-project leader: Then, are there required tests for refilling stations?


Co-project leader: I observed different names - BHD, then HSO, why?

CEPMO#3: Ma’am, the Baguio Health Department (BHD) is now called the Health Services

Office (HSO).

Co-project leader: Ok. So HSO is now the agency in charge of monitoring the refilling

stations. Last year when we obtained data from this office on water quality tests, we

observed that there were a few refilling stations and water delivery services that had

water test results. The number was certainly smaller than the observed number of water

67

refilling stations that was obtained by the enumerators of the household survey for our

project.

CEPMO: Yes, ma’am.That is true. Every year, there are stations that close. There are those

which change their names. There are those who fail the water quality tests and are

removed from the list of water refillers.

Co-project leader: I ask this because when one reads in the Baguio Midland Courier a list

of accredited water refilling stations. Perhaps, the names of those stations that fail

should also be publicly known in order that users can avoid buying water from them.

CEPMO: Ma’am, it is only the members of the water refillers organization that publishes the

names of their members.

Co-project leader: Are you referring to the Baguio Association of Mineral and Purified Water

Refillers (BAMPWR)?

CEPMO#3: Yes, ma’am. If you are a member, the name of the station will be included in the

list published by the organization - BAMPWR.

CEPMO: Perhaps it should be the HSO that publishes the names of water refilling stations

that fail the water quality test. When I conduct my survey in order to complete the

inventory for the office I discover stations that do not have clearances from HSO or do

not have business permits. The operators of the stations do not welcome me because

they think I will be the one who will report them about their violations.

Gladys: But that is exactly what should happen!

CEPMO: I do not report these observations because it is not the responsibility of our office to

do so. It is true that there are more water refilling stations that sell water but are not

found on the inventory or list of water stations.

Co-project leader: We tried to get in touch with the association but we were not successful.

CEPMO: The office of the association is located in Camp 7. I think that the Vice President of

the association is the owner of Dickman Water Delivery Services at Camp 7.

Co-project leader: Is Atty Olairez still the president?

CEPMO: Perhaps not any more.

Co-project leader: Can we also check at the office that issues business permit for a

complete list?

CEPMO: Yes, Ma’am.

Co-project leader: We know that the list of water refillers from the office issuing business

permits has a longer list of establishments than the list of water refillers that have data

on water tests at the Health Services Office.

CEPMO#2: Perhaps the HSO has not yet inspected the establishment. That is why these

are not yet in the list of HSO.

68

Co-project leader: Can you explain that to us very clearly? The renewal of business permit

is January or every first quarter?

CEPMO: That deadline is not always followed. It is possible that the establishment comes

for renewal beyond the deadline.

Co-project leader: But who will see to it that the establishments have all the requirements to

operate? So far we have not had any episode of a water-borne epidemic. Neither have

we heard yet of people complaining about bottled water.

Mic: But, strictly speaking, if we follow the policies, this is already a violation, right? So who

is in charge of giving sanctions to those who violate the policy?

CEPMO: We have no experience about this.

Co-project leader: You just report about the inventory that you accomplish.

CEPMO: Yes, because our office is not authorized to stop the operation of an establishment.

That is the same with a permit to operate a deep well. If the application has already

reached NWRB, we have no authority to interfere anymore.

Mic: Do you mean stopping the operator of a deep well from distributing water?

CEPMO: None.

Project Leader: Since the objective of this FGD is to come up with a list of

recommendations in relation to improving water quality, can we trace the process of

applying to put up a water refilling station?

Co-project leader: Is it correct to think that you actually lack procedures for punishing a

violation? If in fact you, from CEPMO, observe a violation like this, you can only report

about it. To what office?

CEPMO: Yes, NWRB and HSO.

Mic: But the local water code is implemented by the city, why do you still report to NWRB?

CEPMO: Only for the case of deep wells. For water refilling stations, we report to HSO.

Co-project leader: The head of HSO said at the last FGD that they go to the owner of the

water refilling station that failed the water test and they tell them to stop operating.

Then they make sure that the establishment gets its HSO clearance before it is allowed

to resume its operation.

Mic: For refilling stations, what about for water delivery services?

CEPMO: Both are covered by HSO. Only the operation of the deep well is under NWRB.

Co-project leader: What if the water delivery service gets its water from a deep well?

CEPMO: It is the HSO that conducts the water test to declare the water of the water refilling

station potable.

Co-project leader: So HSO issues a certificate that the water is potable?

69

CEPMO: Yes, ma’am. Water delivery services may carry water that is not meant for drinking

but for other domestic uses.

CEPMO#3: The certificate that water is potable comes from the Baguio Water District if the

deep well that is used by the water refilling station is under the BWD.

Co-project leader: What if the deep well water source is not under the authority of the

BWD?

CEPMO#3: Then it is the National Water Resources Board that is in charge.

Co-project leader: So the Baguio Water District also has a water delivery service and it also

provides water to other commercial water deliver services. Is that a correct thing to say?

CEPMO: Yes,ma’am. We observe that Danes Water Delivery and Pooten Deep well deliver

water to the water refilling stations in Navy Base and Gibraltar.

Co-project leader: These are private water delivery services but they get water from the

BWD deep well?

CEPMO: Yes, Ma’am

(End of Transcription)

Summary of Question and Answer portion

Q: Who issues permits to water drillers?

A: NWRB

Q: In Baguio?

A: At the Mayor’s office, the person applies for a permit to drill but the person must already

have a water permit issued by the NWRB.

Q: What are the rules and procedures? For example I want to start a water refilling station,

what are the steps?

A: Applicants submit the following:

Application form

Engineer’s Report (based on PD 850) – to be submitted by the applicant

information on source of water (deep well, natural spring, BWD)

information on owner of refilling station

specification of equipment for purification to identify type of water (mineral,

alkaline, purified)

sanitary plans (systematic plan of stages, structure of the building

market analysis (optional)

etc.

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Q: Is the certificate of water quality different from the certificate of water potability?

A: The certificate of potability is for the water refilling station.

Q: Is the certificate of potability only for drinking water? Is there also a certificate of water

quality for water delivery? Which agency does the testing?

A: For the presence of bacteria, the Health Services Office can do that. For other water

tests, it is the DOST.

Q: How much do these tests cost?

A: A package of tests costsP3,000.

Q: What test results are submitted by refilling stations and how often?

A: The test for the presence of bacteria is a monthly test. The certificate of water potability is

submitted before operation.

Q: Who issues the certificate of potability?

A: BWD

Q: How long is a permit to operate?

A: One year

Q: Does the HSO make public the water refilling stations that do not pass the bacteria test?

A: No

Q: Therefore, a water refilling station must be on a list every year. If you are not on that list,

you are not qualified to operate?

A: Yes, ma’am. That is the requirement for permits and licenses.

Q: What does the certification look like – piece of paper like a certificate or a sticker?

A: A piece of paper.

Q: What about delineation of functions?

A: For deep wells, NWRB

Project Leader: For refilling stations?

CEPMO: HSO

Recommendations:

1. For barangay officials to assume the task of checking requirements for the applications to

establish refilling stations. “Sa barangay may committee on sanitation... para

hindimahirapanangmganasa city. Kasi masisipagangmga barangay natin...”[There is a

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committee on sanitation at the barangay level. This will lessen the burden for city offices.

The barangay officials are hard-working.]

2. For better coordination, the different offices can make the inspection of an establishment

together.

3. For city offices to have enforcement powers in relation to water quality regulations, not just

the task of completing an inventory of operators.

-end-

FGD Participants included:

o Alessandrea Calpito-Lacsamana of the City Environment and Parks Management

Office (CEPMO);

o Minda Odsey of the Watershed and Water Resources Research Center (WWRRC),

Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), Department of

Environment and Natural Resources (DENR);

o Engineers Wilbur Suanding and Frederick Aquino of the Wastewater, Water and

Ambient Air Management Division (WAMD)-CEPMO; and

o Members of the UP Baguio-ICLEI water security project team

72

ANNEX F: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW WITH PHYSICS PROFESSOR IAN JASPER AGULO DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES, UP BAGUIO

Team Leader: As part of our water security study, we intend to conduct a pilot test of a

water filtration and purification system. First, we want to test an effective one -

something that has already been tried and shown to work. Second, we prefer that this

system is an affordable one because we would like to propose its adoption by poor

households. Third, we want to find out if people will adopt this effective water

purification system that is affordable. We are interested to find out about behavioral

factors that may influence households to adopt such a water purification system. The

idea is to set up such a system in a selected poor barangay.

We know that you were part of a study team at the College of Science that was working

on a water purification system. Perhaps you can advice us on this matter. Is it true that

you have discontinued the project on the water purification system here at UP Baguio?

Resource Person: Yes, the water purification system that we were experimenting on here at

UP Baguio has been stopped. That is because the clay filter being used has some

problems. The most important is that the clay filter gets molds. That is a problem that

needs to be solved for the water purification system to work effectively.

Team Leader: Did the clay filter show this problem already before?

Resource Person: This finding about the clay filter was already observed before, making

the clay filter ineffective in the long run.

Co-Leader: Therefore when this system was used during the Yolanda experiment, this was

not yet the case?

Resource Person: Not yet, but Prof. Chelo Pascua was alerted to this possibility because of

data from a separate study.

Co-Leader: And then now it is affirmed that after a long period of use, the clay filter gets

molds.

Resource Person: Yes, depending on the quality of the water, the appearance of the molds

may happen sooner or later.

Team Leader: Our present project will be producing IEC materials. The information

contained in the IEC material will assist people in making choices about the type and

kind of water filter to purchase.

Co-Leader: May I ask questions from your report and in relation to the IEC material that our

study will produce? Quality of water has many aspects (e.g., potability). For example,

sediments might be present in the water but they are not necessarily bad for the body.

When the impurities are visible, people will refuse to drink the water. But there are

impurities that cannot be seen, like bacteria, for example, that could cause illness.

Does the term “filtration” refer to removing these visible particles? And filtration is not

meant to remove the bacteria? Is that another stage? Is that why you are

73

recommending the coating of the filter? There is talk about the use of chlorine and the

UV light which is the one that is used by the commercial water purifiers. We need to

learn exactly what terms to use when we write the IEC materials. Can filtration also

reduce bacteria?

Resource Person: Yes.

Co-Leader: What are the stages? Filtration first? Then..

Resource Person: The term “purification” is for the whole system. Water can contain

biological and non-biological particles that need to be removed before it can be

declared potable following certain standards.

Co-Leader: That’s what we will make clear to people - that there are biological as well as

non-biological elements which have to be removed before water becomes potable or

safe drinking water.

Team Leader: Are the non-biological particles in water the sediments?

Resource Person: Yes. Also, there are heavy metals.

Co-Leader: With regard to the presence of heavy metals in water, is that difficult to test for?

Resource Person: There are devices used to test for the presence of heavy metals in

water.

Co-Leader: Are these devices expensive?

Resource Person: Yes, they can cost 36,000 pesos.

Co-Leader: Usually, does one test for the presence of metals when one suspects that the

water source is contaminated by metal?

Resource Person: Yes

Co-Leader: Is it something you should do when you are evaluating water at the water

source? And this is not something that you should worry about anymore when the water

is being distributed as drinking water, right?

Resource Person: Yes

Co-Leader: So tests for the presence of heavy metal should be done by the one who

provides the water. It is not done by a consumer because the water that a consumer

has access to is one coming through the tap, or delivered water or bottled water. The

sources of water for these forms should have already been tested for the presence of

heavy metals. What metals should we worry about, mercury?

Team Leader: Lead?

Resource Person: Yes, we should test for the presence of heavy metals because we are in

the Cordillera and there are mining activities on-going here. And these metals do seep

into the water sources like springs and wells.

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Co-Leader: What about the things like contamination, like in Irisan, there is this dumpsite.

Resource Person: That is bacterial contamination.

Co-Leader: In this case, what do we worry about? Those things that can cause illnesses like

diarrhea such as e-coli?

Resource Person: Yes, exactly

Co-Leader: When we pilot test,we choose a safe water source – one without heavy metals.

We need to eliminate this possibility.

Team Leader: Our idea is to try the purification process in a community without access to

BWD.

Co-Leader: For example, we may want to test water coming from the natural sources such

as spring water and even rainwater. We are assuming that the water distributed through

a BWD connection is already potable. We do boiling of the BWD water to make it safer

for drinking. And we purchase purified water, too, because we believe this is safer to

drink.

Resource Person: The present system of buying purified water is not efficient in a lot of

ways. For example, the water is transported from the refilling station to your home in

water containers. However, if you have your own purification system, you are self-

sufficient.

Co-Leader: We know there are households that buy and use their own water purification

system. We are now checking on the prices of the commercially available purification

systems. What is your assessment of the commercially available water purifiers? Did

you make a comparison between the purification system that you developed and the

commercially available systems?

Resource Person: Yes, we did a comparison but the analysis is not yet complete. From our

initial assessment, the effectiveness of the water purification system that is

commercially sold depends on the water source. For example, if the water source is

BWD, the purification system is effective. Then to maintain its effectiveness, one must

follow the manufacturer’s advise on the period of use of the filter before having it

changed. Usually, these filters need to be changed every six months of use.

Team Leader: What if the source is rainwater? Is this purification system still effective?

Resource Person: For rainwater, yes. The purification system will be effective if you collect

rainwater directly.

Team Leader: What do you mean ‘directly’?

Resource Person: Let me describe what I mean. When you collect rainwater that passes

through a tube or pipe, it is possible that the tube or pipe has molds or bacteria which

the rainwater will now carry along with it.

Team Leader: Suppose the rooftop is where rainwater harvesting begins?

75

Resource Person: Well, if the roof is made of galvanized iron, this is metal and there can be

rust.

Co-Leader: Rooftops can also contain litter of cats or other animals or fowl.

Resource Person: Of course, one can also use stainless steel.

Co-Leader: Why are plastic pipes used more often now? Is it because molds do not grow

on plastic?

Resource Person: Yes, not as much, but as long as something is carbon-based biological

components can attach themselves to the pipe.

Co-Leader: And therefore there is basis for all our fears that our pipes are already moldy

because these have been there all these years.

Team Member 2: In other countries, how are they able to make water that comes out

straight from the faucet safe to drink?

Resource Person: That is because the water coming from the water distribution system that

enters the household’s water pipes is already safe for drinking.

Co-Leader: You are saying that since the water that enters the pipes is already safe and

potable, there is nothing there that will cause the pipes to have molds.

Resource Person: Of course, this assumes that the pipes are properly sealed.

Team Leader: In addition, it means that the water has already been properly treated.

Resource Person: Yes.

Co-Leader: The water source is really important.

Resource Person: In other countries, standards are really followed. Unfortunately in the

Philippines, we are not like that. We have a different attitude about complying with

standards.

Team Member 2: What water is tested for water providers? The water source or the water

obtained after the process of purification?

Resource Person: The water that is the outcome of the purification process.

Team Member 2: When this water that is the outcome of the purification process is found to

be safe to drink, then it does not matter what the water source was.

Resource Person: Of course, there should be regular testing of the water produced by the

purification process. In addition there should also be updated tests on the water

source.

Co-Leader: Let me go back to the molds inside the pipe. How long before the molds can

grow and then remain there? They can also die, right?

Resource Person: The molds grow fast because of the type of environment. Any type of

biological substance will grow as long as there is water. But when the water is flowing

76

continuously, the mold will not grow because it cannot attach itself to the pipe while

water is flowing through the pipe.

Team Leader: What about the case in Baguio where there is water and then there is none?

(Note: BWD water is distributed on a rotational schedule.)

Co-Leader: What about the case where water is delivered and kept in containers before

they flow through the house pipes? Will that cause molds to grow just the same?

Resource Person: The chance of growth is higher.

Team Leader: What considerations should people think about in buying water filters?

Resource Person: Well, the commercially available filters can be used for rainwater. I am

not sure whether these water filters can be used for spring water because we need to

test the quality of water at the source. In addition, one also needs to check whether the

water can get contaminated while being collected in containers or while flowing through

exposed pipes, etc.

Team Leader: Suppose the distribution pipes pass through a piggery?

Resource Person: Exactly.

Co-Leader: And that is exactly the concern about the appropriate regulation of water

distribution systems. Who is checking if the water that people have access tois clean. It

cannot be the responsibility only of the consumer of the water. Our experience in

Baguio is that people buy distilled water, purified water or they boil BWD water.

Team Member 2: But there are refilling stations that fail the monthly water tests.

[Pictures of water filters available were shown and discussed.]

Team Member 1: How long before the container gets filled with purified water?

Team Member 2: It can take long, sometimes overnight.

Team Member 1: How long before the water filter has to be changed?

Team Member 2: Six months

Team Member 3: This is the model that costs 9,000 pesos.

Resource Person: That is because, this model has a pump.

Team Leader: What model would you recommend for the project to buy to use in our pilot

test on water quality?

Resource Person: Of course, you should consider the cost. After all, you are thinking of

making the individual household purchase for itself. On the other hand, if you have no

budget constraint, you can buy several models and compare them.

Co-Leader:Let’s consider the price from the point of view of the poor.

Team Member 1: It cannot be very expensive.

77

Resource Person: Actually we could conduct an experiment – to find out how long the

purification system works or whether the filter is able to remove heavy metals.

Team Leader: Are the tests done here? How much is the model with ceramic?

Team Member 3: 800 pesos.

Team Member 2: But we are not certain that this model uses ceramic.

Resource Person: The use of chlorine will purify the water by killing biological elements but

the taste of chlorine is slightly acidic.

Team Leader: The biological elements are removed but the heavy metals may remain.

Resource Person: Well, chlorine is metal. When we drink it, it is expelled by the body

afterwards.

Team Member 3: The proportion to use for chlorine is one tablet of puritab to one liter of

water.

Team Leader: Then puritab is cheaper, so why will I buy a water filter?

Team Member 1: The water with puritab has a bad taste.

Team Leader: How much did your water filtration experiment cost?

Resource Person: (showed file on costing)

Team Member 1: If we are going to do the experiment with the Irisan Water Cooperative, we

observed that the individual houses have a hose connected to the spring source.

Resource Person: You can modify the adaptor for the water filter.

Team Member 2: How are we supposed to read this number? (Referring to the product

information on a commercially available water filter).

Resource Person: That means 2 to 2.5 microns

Team Member 2: Let us look at the model that has a ceramic dome water filter.

Resource Person: The model does not state what kind of ceramic filter is being used.

Actually it doesn’t matter. What matters ishow small the particles are that are not

allowed to pass through. That defines the pore size.

Co-Leader: They describe the ceramic according to these particles?

Resource Person: What else are you thinking with regard to this pilot-testing?

Co-Leader: We are thinking how to convince a few households of about 4-5 that use one

water source. The pilot test is to demonstrate that we can filter the spring water and

make it safe to drink. Then these households do not need to buy drinking water from

the water refilling station. That is the science part. The other one will be the cost. How

much time will it take for water from the spring to become filtered? Is the process cost

effective or even labor-effective? That is the social science part.

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Team Member 1: It may turn out that the filtered spring water is cleaner than the water that

households purchase from the water refilling station.

Co-Leader: Is it correct to say that the refilling stations actually buy their water from BWD?

Team Member 1: They also buy water from non-BWD water delivery services.

Resource Person: Actually, you can also make them earn some income if they set-up their

own water purification system because they can sell the output of the system.

Team Leader: What was the experience of Prof. Pascua regarding the acceptability of the

water produced by his water purification system?

Resource Person: Even after showing that the water from the system was safe to drink

whatever the source of the water for purification, the people preferred to drink bottled

water. The issue is acceptability by the people.

Co-Leader: Let us think of the test in this way. 1) We test the spring water at the source of

the water to be used in the purification system; 2) then we test again after water has

been filtered; and 3) we can compare different kinds of filter. Can we try this idea with

the households who are served by the water cooperative in Irisan?

Team Member 1: Yes, there is a spring water source in Irisan that is used for distribution to

households and this is not managed by BWD but by a cooperative.

Co-Leader: That’s it. We just need to convince the cooperative. Then we set up the pilot test

for water quality. Hopefully we will find out if there is social acceptability for setting up

and managing a water purification system in this community.

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ANNEX E: INTERVIEW7 WITH ENGR. MOISES LOZANO, WAMD, CEPMO

41% of Baguio City’s population along the Balili river are connected to the

sewer lines

24% of Baguio City’s population are connected to the sewer lines

Filtered water is released to the Balili river by the Sewerage Treatment Plant

There is a requirement for new building construction to have a pre-treatment

facility (i.e., septic tank), and the overflow of the septic tank should be

connected to a sewer line.

There is a one-time connection fee for residential buildings. For commercial

buildings a minimal renewal fee is collected.

Old buildings are directly connected to sewer lines.

Establishments in the City with water treatment facilities include Camp John

Hay, SM Baguio, and University of the Cordilleras (constructed recently and

operating).

There is an on-going mapping of the City sewer lines with the help of GIS.

Residential/commercial buildings within 100 meters from the sewer lines

should be connected to the sewerage system.

History of the Baguio Sewer System

o Before WW II the Baguio Sewerage system was supervised by the

Department of Public Services (DPS), a national agency. Then the water

supply system and sewerage system were separated from DPS and given

to the Baguio Water District (BWD). The Baguio Water District was

supposed to manage the sewage treatment plant but until this time it has

not assumed this responsibility due to lack of funds.

o 1984 – The Baguio sewage treatment facility was constructed under JICA

o 1991-1992 – The construction and expansion of pre-existing sewerage

networks under JICA

o The DPS was moved to the supervision of the Mayor’s Office that created

the General Services Office. It also created the Sewage Treatment Plant

as one department under the Public Utilities Service Office in 1986.

o A reorganization in 2004 resulted into the creation of the City Environment

and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) with divisions for Forestry, Parks,

Sewerage, Air, and Water

7 Engr. Moises Lozano, WAMD CEPMO, North Sanitary Camp 2016

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ANNEX F: DENR INTERVIEW & DATA-GATHERING

1. What is the scope of the powers designated by the NWRB to the DENR relative

to the regulation of water?

The Water Resources Utilization Section (WRUS) of the DENR shall serve as NWRB’s

deputy in the DENR Regional offices to perform some of the functions relative to water

use.

WRUS Functions:

a. Accept, investigate and submit reports with recommendations on water permit

applications;

b. Investigate and submit reports with recommendations on water use

controversies referred by NWRB.

c. Conduct continuing inventories of different users of water and other water

resources development activities in the respective jurisdiction in conformity

with the provisions of the Water Code;

d. Conduct monitoring of well drilling activities in the area and notify NWRB of

violations by water appropriators and illegal drilling activities for the issuance

of Notice of Violations (NOV) and Cease and Desist Orders (CDO’s);

e. Monitors and validates compliance by persons/agents with water permits with

the conditions contained in the water permits.

f. Execute Board orders, decisions, rulings, writ of execution, etc. that are

referred to them for appropriate action (with the assistance of local and

national police agencies);

g. Accept fees in the form of Postal Money Order payable to NWRB (e.g. filing

fees) and remits the same to NWRB seeing to it that it is not expired or stale.

h. Conduct water resources assessment and other related studies with the

assistance of NWRB; and

i. Undertake information, education and communication campaign to key

stakeholders regarding the Water Code of the Philippines and its

Implementing Rules and Regulation, etc. in collaboration with NWRB.

Source: Department of Environment and Natural Resources and National Water Resources

Board flyer on “Why we need to Register/Apply for a Water Permit”

2. Before the NWRB was designated the task of regulating the water resource, was

there another agency which was previously designated to do the same? What

agency is this?

There was no designated agency that does the same as far as the knowledge of the

interviewee. Only NWRB was authorized for the entire Philippines. He however does not

81

know about the other agencies. There is actually still no deputation for DENR although

they are already carrying out their roles. They created a Water Resources Utilization

Section at the DENR as well. There was already a deputation in 2010 but this was not

yet formally implemented. NIA and DPWH are also other agencies where applicants can

submit their application for permits.

3. What is the territorial jurisdiction of DENR-CAR relative to water permits?

As of now, DENR’s role is the inventory of water users around the Cordillera

region. Though water permits can only be provided by the NWRB.

4. How many applications for water permits from the City of Baguio were received

thus far? How many of these applications were approved/disapproved/pending?

They do not have data on the total number of applicants for Baguio City since other

agencies also receive applications. There are 166 approved applications as of December

2015.

5. How many applications by the land-owner are filed for the registration for

domestic use of their waters that are found in their land?

They do not have data on land-owners who filed for registration for domestic use

of their waters found in their land.

Domestic users include not just households who use water but also schools,

hotels, etc. These are establishments which consume 250L per capita per day.

As of Dec 2015, there are 125 out of the 166 approved applications which are

under the domestic category. Other categories of users are irrigation and

industrial.

6. Does the DENR-CAR have regulatory powers over deep wells in the City of

Baguio?

The only role of the DENR is to do an investigation of the area upon application

and then assist in processing for approval of the application. They assess if the

area for the deep well to be installed complies with the standards and

requirements and then they transmit the application to the NWRB.

7. How many are accredited/registered well drillers in the City of Baguio?

They do not have a list of accredited well-drillers in Baguio City.

Others:

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8. Ask the opinion of the officer about the “Water Ordinance of the City of Baguio?”

Ask him/her also if s/he thinks it is alright for the City to issue water permits.

For the issuance of water permits, Engr. Micklay agrees that the deputized agencies be

allowed to issue permits provided that they will be trained well since it is the ‘locals” who

know more of the situation. Management should also be localized. This is also to relieve

NWRB of their duties. PD 1067 then will have to be revised.

In terms however of economic and enforcement duties, he is in favour of the idea that

NWRB continue implementing these duties. For example in the case of BWD, NWRB should

still be the one to determine the tariff for water.

For the enforcement, the NWRB should still be the one taking care of this. Because it is a

national level agency, it has more power than a local level agency when it enforces policies.

Engr. Micklay feels that if for example the DENR will be handling enforcement and then they

ask the PNP or NBI as enforcement agencies to assist in any case of violation for example,

these offices might not heed their request. It is different if the request will come from a

national level office.

9. Ask for the list of requirements needed for the issuance of various permits.

Checklist of Requirements

Documentary Requirements (To be complied with by applicants)

All applications shall be filed in the prescribed form, sworn to by the applicants and

supported by the following documents:

a. Water Permit for Municipal Use

Proof of land ownership of, legal title to, or right to use, the property where the

water source is situated;

Certificate of Registration from relevant agencies - i.e Department of Trade and

Industry (DTI), Cooperative and Development Authority (CDA), Securities and

Exchange Commission (SEC) with Articles of Incorporation (for Corporation or

Association) including Corporate Secretary’s Certification on present capital

structure stating the citizenship and the number of shares of each stockholder;

Certificate of Conformance from LWUA (for Water Districts only);

Certificate of Registration (if Barangay Waterworks Association, Rural

Waterworks and Sanitation Association);

Vicinity Map/Location Plan with scale 1:10,000 or 1:50,000 showing the exact

location of the point of diversion;

Subdivision Plan (if applicable);

Well Drilling Data (in case of existing groundwater source authenticated by the

well driller) including Physical and Chemical analysis of water;

Sangguniang Bayan/Regional Development Council endorsement (for LGU-

managed water supply facilities);

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Environmental Compliance Certificate (for projects considered as

Environmentally Critical Projects or projects located in Environmentally Critical

Areas) or Certificate of Non-Coverage from DENR -Regional Office; and

Such other documents that may be required by the Board

b. Water Permit for Irrigation Use


water source is situated; For irrigators association, a certification from the

municipal assessor of the list of farmers with corresponding irrigable area in

hectares






Vicinity Map/Location Plan with scale 1:50,000 showing the exact location of

the point of diversion;

General layout of the system, including delineation of area indicating hectarage

for which water will be used and adjoining lands and their corresponding

owners duly indicated relative to the point of diversion;

Well Drilling Data (in case of existing groundwater source);



Areas) or Certificate of Non-Coverage from DENR -Regional Office; and

Such other documents that may be required by the Board.

c. Water Permit for Power Generation










Brief Description of the project stating among others, how water will be used,

amount of water needed, power to be generated, etc.;



Areas) or Certificate of Non-Coverage from DENR-Regional Office; and

Certificate of Registration from DOE and Certificate of Indorsement.


84

d. Water Permit for Industrial Use











amount of water needed, etc.;




Areas) or Certificate of Non-Coverage from DENR-Regional Office.; and


e. Water Permit for Fisheries















Areas) or Certificate of Non-Coverage from DENR -Regional Office.

Clearance from existing dam/reservoir operated by NIA, NPC and other

government entities (for fisheries located upstream not within said existing

dam/reservoir); and


f. Water Permit for Other Uses (Recreation, Commercial, Memorial Park, etc.)






85








Certificate of Potability (including Physical and Chemical Analysis of water); (if

applicable);



Areas) or Certificate of Non-Coverage from DENR-Regional Office;


g. Water Permit for Livestock Raising












amount of water needed, etc.



Areas) or Certificate of Non-Coverage from DENR-Regional Office; and


h. Other Requirements

For Well Drilling – All applications involving extraction of groundwater shall

include the name of a duly registered well driller who will undertake the drilling.

For Transfer of a Water Permit – A verified petition for the transfer of a water

permit shall state the reasons for the transfer and shall attach the contract or

agreement for the transfer.

For Lease of a Water Right – A verified petition for the lease of a water permit

shall be accompanied by a duly executed contract of lease, Provided that no

contract of lease shall be for a continuous period exceeding five (5) years,

otherwise the contract shall be treated as a transfer of permit in favor of the

lessee.

For Bulk Water Supply - An agreement MOA/Joint Venture Agreement between

the private water supplier and the buyer with specific purpose on how water will

be used.

86

Steps for the Processing of Water Permit Application (WPA)

(Prepared by Evelyn V. Ayson)

Step 1. Screening

WPA form and Notices completely filled up and notarized

All basic requirements complied with

Coordinates (latitude and longitude) of water source is determined by the

Evaluation Section Staff

WPA Number / Reference Number assigned by the Permit Section

Step 2. Cashier

Applicant pays to the Cashier ( Vita, Anna, Danny) the corresponding WPA filing

fees:

Municipal - P5000.00/application

Irrigation - P5000.00 (National Corporation)

P500.00 (Communal/ Individual)

Power Generation - P5000.00

Fisheries - P5000.00

Livestock Raising - P1000.00 (Backyard)

P3000.00 (Commercial)

Industrial - P5000.00

Recreation - P5000.00

Other Purposes - P5000.00

Step 3. Filing

Applicant submits the accomplished WPA form with Notices and documentary

requirements to the Records Section of Administrative and Financial Division

(AFD)

Records Section routes the WPA to Water Rights Division (WRD)

Step 4. Application Endorsement and Posting of Notices

Permit Section prepares the endorsement letter

WPA endorsed to the nearest DPWH Engineering District Office or the NIA

Provincial Irrigation Office where the water source point of diversion is located

Letter prepared for the posting of Notices of WPA to be sent to the following

offices/agencies to be posted on their bulletin board for a period of 30 days

o Barangay Chairman of the barangay where the point of diversion of the

source is located

o City or Municipal Secretary of the city or town where the point of diversion

is located

o The Secretary of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the province where

the point of diversion is located

o Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) District Engineer

o National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Provincial Irrigation Office

o Regional office of DPWH

o Regional office of NIA

o National Power Corporation

o Regional Office of DENR

87

o Local Water District ( if available in the area)

o NWRB

Step 5. Mailing of Endorsement and Notices

The Record Unit of AFD mails the endorsement letter and request letter for

posting of the notices to the abovementioned offices/agencies

Step 6. Field Investigation

Water Rights Investigator of DPWH Engineering District or NIA Provincial Office

conducts site ocular inspection, prepares report and submit to NWRB

In some instances, NWRB Staff conducts the field inspection/investigation if no

report from DPWH or NIA is submitted

Step 7. Protest

After 30 days of posting of the Notices, another 30 days is alloted for the affected

party/parties to file its formal opposition on the WPA.

Protestant/Oppositor submits to NWRB its opposition letter together with payment

of protest fee in the amount of P3000.00

Protest is docketed by WRD Staff

The Chief of the WRD assigns the case to a Hearing Officer who conducts the

hearing of the case

Resolution of cases is recommended to the Executive Director

Step 8. Evaluation

Determine water source whether surface water, spring or deep well source

If the deep well is non-existent, Permit to Drill (PTD) is issued with a validity of 6

months

After drilling Applicant submits to NWRB the deep well drilling data, pumping test

results, bacteriological test and/or water analyses of water

If drilling has not been completed during the validity period, applicant may

request for an extension of its PTD for another 6 months citing the reason why

drilling did not commence

If the deep well already exists, applicant is issued an Order penalizing him/her for

drilling the deep well without the PTD

Applicant pays to the Cashier the penalty and informs the WRD staff the Official

Receipt (OR) Number and when it was paid

Application is evaluated by considering the water requirement of the Applicant,

water availability within the area, capacity of the water source, effect of the

applicants source to other users

Recommends to the Board the amount of water to be granted to the Applicant

Step 9. Recommendation and Approval

WPAs evaluated and recommended to the Board is submitted to Director Tabios

of NHRC (NWRB Board Member) for his review, comment and recommendation

All WPAs with a recommended amount of water of 100 lps and below are

approved/deferred/denied by the Executive Director

All WPAs with a recommended amount of water of more than 100 lps is

deliberated and approved/deferred/denied by the NWRB Board

88

The Board Secretary prepares the Board Resolution of the approved WPs and

signed by the Board members

Step 10. Conditional Water Permit (CPC)

WRD assigns conditional water permit number to the approved water permit

applicant

Billing Section computes the annual water charge of the Permittee

WRD staff prepares the Conditional Water Permit

Conditional Water Permit is signed by the Executive Director after it was cleared

by (EVA, EMB, JME)

Applicant is notified thru letter and order of payment is prepared EDO

Applicant (now Permittee) pays the corresponding Annual Water Charge to the

Cashier

Conditional Water Permit is released after Permittee presents the OR payment to

EDO

Step 11. Releasing of Water Permit

CWP holders complies with the conditions imposed in the Conditional Water

Permit

WRD staff (EVA, CMM) reviews the compliance and prepares recommendation

for issuance of Water Permit to be approved by the Executive Director

Water Permit is prepared by WRD and signed by the Executive Director after it

was cleared by EVA, EMB, JME

Application is notified thru the Billing Statement sent by Billing Unit

Applicant pays the corresponding Annual Water Charge to the cashier or to

UCPB branches

Water Permit is released after permittee presented the OR payment to EDO

SOURCE: National Water Regulations Board. Water Permit application in

http://www.nwrb.gov.ph/index.php/products-and-services/water-permit-application

Organizational Chart relative to water regulation

Water Resources Use Section

EMMANUEL P. DICTAN

Engineer II

SIMEON N. MICKLAY

Engr III/Section Chief

GWENDELYN B. HUMIWAT

Engineer II

89

90

The Water Permit Application Form

91

92

93

94

ANNEX G: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW WITH THE OPERATOR OF AN

INFORMAL WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

13 June 2016 (10:35am to 11:25am)

Purok 14 A,Irisan, Baguio City

Key Informant: Mrs. BernadethSuguitan

Background of Informant:

Mrs. Bernadeth ‘Bina’ Suguitan, 42 years old, is a native of La Union. She is married to a

laborer and has one child (around 16 years old). According to her, she acts as the caretaker

of the house and lot where her family lives as well as the ub-bog (spring) water connection in

Purok 14A Irisan, Baguio City owned bya certain Mr. and Mrs. Lawagan. She has been

doing this for the last 11 years since 2005. They are not relatives of the Lawagans but Mr.

Suguitan was a trusted driver of the Lawagan family who were once involved in the rice

business.

The Lawagan Family

The Lawagan family was headed by Mary and Roy Lawagan who were reported to have

already died last year in their hometown in Tabuk, Kalinga. Mr. Roy Lawagan was known in

the area to have developed a private connection from an ub-bog inside a cave to his

residence in Purok 14A. This connection has since supplied water to the Lawagan house as

well as to other households in the vicinity.

Mrs. Suguitan said that she knows this connection to the spring water has existed for at least

18 years. She has acted as caretaker of the spring for 11 years. She is not sure about the

exact date that the spring water connection was established. It is possible that the

Lawagans managed the connection for a few years before the first caretaker.

Source of Spring Water

The spring water comes from a deep cave located around one kilometer away from the

Lawagan house and is located within Purok 14 of Irisan Barangay. The lot where the spring

is found is known to be owned by the Simon family. According to Mrs. Suguitan, the Simon

family has not prohibited the ‘public’ use of the water source found in their property.

The water connection to the spring source developed by the Lawagan family is a one-inch

black pipe connected to the spring. This connection then branches out to supply water to

other households who also have pipes connected to the spring. Mrs. Suguitan identified

other private connections to the spring namely, the cooperative in Purok 18, a certain Joan

in the same purok, and at least five others who are residents of an adjacent area in

Barangay Asin, Baguio City.

The Private Ub-bog Connection

Lawagan's connection to the spring source serves around 23 households in Purok 14.

Twenty of these households are located at the lower part of the purok while three are nearer

Lawagan's residence on the upper part.

95

The households located in the lower area are connected to the Lawagan private connection

through hoses that they have provided on their own. Households near the Lawagan

residence do not have direct connections to the private springso they buywater per drum.

The distribution of water to the connected households follows an agreed upon schedule of

twice a week per household. However, the informant said that the twice a week schedule

can become more frequent because consumers demand more water especially during the

dry season. The schedule of water distribution could then become at most every other day.

Entry of BWD

When Mrs. Suguitan took over the management of the spring connection, around 40

households were connected to it. However after a year, the Baguio Water District began

offering water connections to households in the area. This enticed some of her customers to

switch to a BWD connection.

According to Mrs. Suguitan, consumers who stayed connected to the Lawagan connection

said that the BWD application and monthly payment were expensive. Those consumers who

switched to the BWD source said that they did so because they felt that the BWD water was

safer.

Payments for water

Households directly connected to Lawagan are generally charged 300 pesos a month.

However, Mrs. Suguitan mentioned that her price took into consideration the capacity to pay

of the water consumer -"nu dagidiay talaga narigrigat kaniak, babaak bassit" (for those who

are poorer than me, I charge them a little less). Also she considers the size of the

household or the number of persons who live in a house for the price to charge a water

connection. “Dagidiay nabuslun ket 400, maamuam ah ta nagadu da idiay balay” (those

who consume a lot of water are charged 400 pesos a month. I can tell because there are

many persons in the house). These cases are however few.

The schedule of payment depends on the date chosen by the consumer.Some pay every

10th of the month, others every 15th, or 30th or other dates agreed upon. However,

according to Mrs. Suguitan, many households do not pay on time. Thus when asked if she

could tell how much the total payments for water is collected each month from the system

that she supervises, she said she could not do this because of the irregular payment

schedule.

For the households buying water on a per drum basis, these households usually consume

one drum per week per household during the dry season. Consumption decreases to almost

one drum per month per household during the rainy season.

The uses of the monthly water payments

Mrs. Suguitan said the monthly payments usually go to expenses for the use of the water

pump to distribute water as well as maintenance costs and rent to the Lawagan family.

These are remitted to the Lawagan grandchildren who live along Marcos Highway. It

amounts to around 2,000 pesos per month.

96

Mrs. Suguitan spends around 150 pesos for electricity each time the water pumps are

operated. According to her, pumping is done four times a month at most during the dry

season and once a month during the rainy season.

Maintenance costs on the other hand goes to replacing the water hose. This requires one

roll of one-inch black hoseper year.Water pipes also get dislodged during typhoons.

Repairing these entail labor costs of at least 250 pesos a day. Her husband and son also

help during these occasions. When many typhoons visit the area, repairing dislocated pipes

entail more frequent maintenance work.

Conflicts

Conflicts can arise from complaints and demands for more frequent water distribution during

the dry months when the consumers rely only on their spring connection for their water

needs.

Some complaints were also raised when Mrs. Suguitan increased the monthly charge from

250 to 300 pesos per month last year. This was resolved through the intervention of the

purok leader.

Water Testing

Regular water testing of the spring water - scheduled monthly at the BWD and yearly at the

DOST - is done by the Irisan Water Cooperative that also gets water from the Lawagan

spring connection. The cooperative distributes water to its members. Mrs. Suguitan then

contacts the operator of the cooperative about the results of the water tests.

Permit

One of the usual issues hurled at the informant is whether she has a water permit for

managing the arrangement of obtaining water from the spring and accepting a monthly

payment from households who receive water from this system. Her response to those who

ask about her water permit is that she is not the owner of the connection to the spring and

therefore she is not in possession of a water permit. However, the informant also admitted

that she does not know of any permit issued to the Lawagans. She asserted that the

present system of water distribution that she manages was in operation before the BWD

formally began to serve the area.

97

ANNEX H: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW WITH THE TREASURER

OF THE IRISAN WATER COOPERATIVE

13 June 2016

Barangay Irisan, Baguio City

Key Informant: Rhea Angulo, Treasurer

Background

The Irisan Community Environmental Multi-Purpose Cooperative was established in 2000

with assistance from the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc. (JVOFI) which saw the need to

aid the Irisan community in the establishment of a more systematic and stable method of

water distribution in the area through the formation of a cooperative dedicated to water

distribution in the barangay. Prior to this, Irisan residents relied entirely on water delivery

services for their domestic water needs since BWD services were not yet available in the

area. At present, the cooperative serves 132 members residing in Purok 15, 16, 17 and 18

of Irisan Barangay.

According to the informant, the cooperative’s mission is “to promote cooperation as a way of

life improving the service and economic well-being of the members and the preservation and

protection of the environment.” Its vision is “a sustainable and viable cooperative with

environment-friendly and committed members united towards a progressive and productive

community.”

The JVOFI extended a PhP 1.4 million loan to the cooperative which was used to purchase

a water pump and to construct the first 2 water tanks serving as the cooperative’s reservoir.8

The coop has availed of another loan from the Cooperative Development Authority for the

construction of another water tank.

Water Source and Distribution

The Irisan Water Cooperative sources its water from a spring located in a cave found in the

property of the Simon family. This water source is not used exclusively by the cooperative

but rather is shared with other entities from Barangays Irisan and Asin. These water users

have been obtaining their water from this source even prior to the establishment of the Irisan

Cooperative. According to the informant, the Simon family has already signed a deed of

donation transferring ownership of the said property to the cooperative. However, the

transfer of ownership over the property is not yet official as of this time.

Inside the cave is found a small body of water akin to a lake to which water hoses are

attached. The cooperative connected a ¾ inch black hose to the water source. Water is

pumped to 4 water tanks with a 35 drum capacity each. Each tank supplies water to each of

the 4 puroks served by the cooperative. Water is distributed through pipes connected to the

homes of coop members. The cooperative still has to replace any of these materials

installed in 2000.

88

The coop pays a monthly amortization of PhP5,000. No interest was charged on the said loan.

98

Water Permit

The cooperative applied for water rights permit in 2012 but this was not approved for two

reasons:

1. A boundary dispute between Baguio City and the Municipality of Tuba ensued at that

time and the Simon property was found in the disputed area.

2. The heirs of the Simon family were hesitant about donating the said property to the

cooperative so its legal rights to the water source was in question.

The cooperative is yet to re-apply for a water rights permit.

BWD Linkages

As part of JVOFI’S preparation in the establishment of the Irisan Cooperative in 2000, it

made inquiries about whether BWD had plans to extend water service to Barangay Irisan.

According to the informant, they learned that there were no such plans. However, in 2004,

the BWD started to supply water to certain areas in Irisan, including the puroks served by the

cooperative. The BWD also approached the cooperative for a possible tie-up but this did not

come up to fruition. According to the informant, the entry of BWD was detrimental to the

cooperative since many of its members decided to apply for a BWD line. She admits that

the fees charged by the cooperative are higher than that of BWD. With the transfer of some

members to BWD, the cooperative’s collection decreased to around PhP 36,000 monthly,

down from PhP 90,000 previously.9

Coop Rules on Water Use, Access and Control

Before a coop member can apply for a water connection, he must first pay the requisite

share capital amounting to PhP 3,000 and a membership fee of PhP 200. The consumer

pays for the cost of all materials for connecting their residence’s water pipes to the coop’s

pipes including the water meter. Consumers can expect water supply daily although this is

not continuous. Water is distributed on rotational basis among the 4 puroks; each purok has

water for 2 hours each day. The distribution cannot be done simultaneously for all the

puroks. The minimum consumption per month is set at one cu m. The coop charges PhP 75

per cu m.

Water Testing

To ensure water quality, the cooperative brings water samples for laboratory testing every

month. During the early years of operation, the cooperative brought water samples to the

Baguio Health Department. Recently, however, water testing was done in the laboratory of

the BWD. Each test costs PhP 200. The cooperative also abides by the required annual

water tests carried out by the DOST. The test costs PhP 4,000. The last test conducted by

the Irisan Cooperative was dated 16 May 2016. It was found that the water distributed by

the coop is suitable for public use. According to the informant, there has been only one

instance during which the cooperative failed the laboratory tests. She said that this was due

to the use of a contaminated water container.

9This has led to JVOFI restructuring the cooperative’s monthly amortization from the original PhP13,000 to

PhP5,000.

99

ANNEX I: COPY OF BWD MANAGER’S LETTER TO UP BAGUIO

CHANCELLOR ROVILLOS

100

ANNEX J: BAGUIO CITY ORDINANCE ON RAINWATER HARVESTING

101

102

ANNEX K: THE LEGAL ASPECTS OF BAGUIO’S POLICIES

ON WATER EXTRACTION

I. Laws on water extraction

The laws governing water extraction within Baguio City partake of both national and local

edicts. At the national level the over-arching legal fiat would be Presidential Decree (PD) No.

1067 otherwise known as The Water Code of the Philippines. On the other hand, the Water

Code of the City of Baguio and the Environment Code of the City of Baguio are the laws of

local application that regulate water extraction.

While PD 1067 emphasizes the state ownership of waters within the Philippine territory, it

nonetheless allows individuals to control some of the waters by granting them water rights.

Based on Article 13 of PD 1067, the water right is evidenced by “a document known as a

water permit.” Additionally, PD 424 has created the National Water Regulatory Council

(NWRC), now renamed National Water Regulatory Board (NWRB)10, to “[d]etermine,

adjudicate, and grant water rights” (Section 2.A.b). The NWRB is also tasked with the

authority, among others, to regulate the extraction of waters nationwide. Considering that the

seat of the NWRB is located at the national capital of the country, Article 80, PD 1067 allows

the board to “deputize any official or agency of the government to perform any of its specific

functions or activities.” In the Cordillera Region where Baguio City is located, the NWRB has

deputized the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) relative to the issuance of water permits in the region. This deputization began in

2015. Within the DENR, the office that is specifically tasked to perform the functions relative

to the grant of water permits is the Water Resource Use Section (WRUS)11.

Meanwhile, the Baguio City Council passed the Water Code of the City of Baguio in 2007.

Among the highlights of the city ordinance is the requirement for a city water permit. Section

17 of the Ordinance declares:

City water permit(s) may be secured for any of the following purposes:

a) To Excavate/Dig/Drill – to be secured from the City Building Official on

project/term basis.

b) To build water facilities such as the intake structure, storage, treatment,

transmission and distribution – to be secured from the City Building Official on

project/term basis.

c) To operate and maintain water supply systems including sourcing,

transmission/distribution, storing and treatment, wastewater system including

collection, treatment and disposal; other related facilities – to be secured

annually from the City Treasury Office.

d) To distribute or sell water for drinking and other domestic purposes – to be

secured annually from the City Treasury Office.

e) To recycle or re-use water for drinking and other domestic uses – to be

secured annually from the City Health Services Office; for other uses – to be

secured annually from the City Environment and Parks Management Office.

10

Executive Order No. 124-A, 22 July 1987 11

Interview with Engr. Simeon L. Micklay, Section Chief of WRUS.

103

It must be noted however that in Section 74.d of the ordinance, it suddenly mentions that

“the city water permit is issued by the City Mayor.” It must be pointed out early on that this

appears to create confusion as to what office correctly issues the City water permit.

Section 19 of the City Water Code also requires households who wish to extract and drill

water for domestic purposes to “secure clearance from the City Water Resources Board

(CWRB).” Thereafter, the City Water Code directs that “[a]ll water sourcers and

extractors…for household use within the City shall, before payment of the 1st quarter of real

property tax, secure a certification of annual verification of extraction from the City Water

Resources Board” (Sec. 22).

It is also mandated under Section 21 that those who shall engage in the business of well

drilling shall seek accreditation from the City. However for one to be accredited, the well

driller needs to submit certain documents to the Baguio Water District (BWD). Also, well

drillers are directed by Section 20 to report to the CWRB and BWD some necessary

information on the wells that they have drilled.

Some other important requirements of the City Water Code are the following:

Sec. 14.6.1: All new buildings shall include in its design adequate provision

for rain water capture for purposes of flushing, watering of plants and

cleaning.

Sec. 38: For construction of new residential, commercial, institutional and

industrial facilities, the owner/proponent shall provide for water catchment,

cisterns and other storage facilities for water recycling.

Despite the good intentions of the City Water Code, it appears however that its

implementation is grossly lacking. According to some participants to a focus group

discussion on 7 July 2016, the City Water Code is currently not being implemented. Among

the reasons identified for the non-implementation of the ordinance is the protest coming from

the NWRB regarding the arrogation by the City unto itself of the power to issue water

permits. Accordingly, the processing and issuance of water permits is an authority given by

law solely to the NWRB.

In June 2016, the City Council passed the Environment Code of the City of Baguio which is

another important legislation concerning water extraction. Many of the provisions of the

Baguio Water Code found their way into this newly minted ordinance. For instance Section

17 of the City Water Code on what activities require a city water permit and the respective

issuing city offices are found in Section 114 of the City Environment Code. The only

difference is that in the City Water Code, the issuing office of a city water permit for water

supply systems and water distributors is the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) whereas in the

new ordinance, this is issued by the CTO, City Environment and Parks Management

(CEPMO) and the City Health Services Office (CHSO). The confusing provision of Section

74.d of the City Water Code regarding the issuer of a city water permit is also replicated in

Section 175.d of the City Environment Code.

104

On a similar note, Section 19 of the City Water Code on clearance for water sourcers,

extractors and drillers is also found in Section 116 of the City Environment Code. Sections

20 and 21 of the earlier ordinance regarding the report and accreditation of well-drillers are

found in Sections 117 and 118 of the later local law. Likewise, the directive of the City Water

Code in Section 14.6.1 and Section 38 that new buildings shall install a water harvesting

facility is also mandated under Section 47 of the City Environment Code.

There is however a good number of provisions found in the City Environment Code which

appear to be an improvement over those of the City Water Code. For instance, to ensure

that new buildings will observe the requirement of installing a water catchment, Section 48 of

the new ordinance declares that an occupancy permit will be issued only “upon certification

of the CBAO and the Punong Barangay” that such water capture facility was installed.

Another new provision in the City Environment Code is the provision of incentives to certified

green buildings. Section 45 provides that “certified green buildings shall enjoy priority…” in

their transaction with government agencies. Additionally, Section 46 provides that owners of

a certified green building shall enjoy a “2% discount” on the following:

1. Base value of annual real property tax assessment for a period of 5 years

2. Annual tax of gross business income for a period of 5 years

3. Applications for permits and certificates from CBAO for construction and renovation

for a period of 5 years.

One of the requirements to be certified as a green building is the installation of “water

harvesting, water re-use, and recycling” facility (Section 46.a.1).

Other new and commendable provisions of the City Environment Code include:

Section 101: Inventory of water capacity – The City shall conduct an inventory

of all watershed and water resources and their generation capacity.

Section 104: Amnesty period for unregistered extractors – Within six (6)

months from the approval of this law, owners of unregistered existing deep

wells and water extractors that have no permits shall inform the city thru the

barangay and CEPMO of the existence of their water extraction activities…

Section 123: Water Resource Recharge Fee – Water meters must be placed

in deep wells of all extractors whether domestic or commercial in accordance

with a metering system to be developed by the Baguio Water District (BWD).

Fees for extraction of water resources per cubic meter or volume shall be

collected from all water extractors to be paid to the BWD specifically for

watershed maintenance.

Although there are remarkable additions in the new ordinance, it is observed however that

Section 22 of the City Water Code on “Annual verification of water sourcers and extractors”

is glaringly omitted in the City Environment Code. This is unfortunate because this provision

is an important procedure that enables regulating the volume of water that deep well owners

extract.

105

In summary, the table below shows the comparison between some of the contents of the

City Water Code and the City Environment Code regarding water extraction:

Table 11: Water Code vs. Environment Code

City Water Code City Environment Code Remarks

Sec. 17:

a) To Excavate/Dig/Drill b) To build water facilities c) To operate and maintain

water supply systems– to be secured from the CTO.

d) To distribute or sell water for drinking and other domestic purposes – to be secured from the CTO.

e) To recycle or re-use water…

Sec. 114:

a) To Excavate/Dig/Drill b) To build water facilities c) To operate and maintain

water supply systems– to be secured from the CTO, CHSO, CEPMO.

d) To distribute or sell water for drinking and other domestic purposes – to be secured from the CTO, CHSO.

e) To recycle or re-use water…

In the Water Code, the water

permit in item c is issued by

the CTO whereas in the

Environment Code, this is

issued by CTO, CHSO and

CEPMO. For item d, the

CTO issued the permit under

the City Water Code but

under the Environment

Code, this is issued by the

CTO and CHSO.

Sec. 74.d:…[t]he city water

permit is issued by the City

Mayor.

Sec. 175.d:…[t]he city water

permit is issued by the City

Mayor.

No difference between the

two ordinances.

Sec. 19: Clearance for water

sourcers, extractors and

drillers.

Sec. 116: Clearance for

water sourcers, extractors

and drillers.


two ordinances.

Sec. 20: Certification by well

driller.

Sec. 117: Report by well

driller.


two ordinances except for

the title.

Sec. 21: Requirements for

accreditation as water well

driller.

Sec. 118: Requirements for

accreditation as water well

driller.


two ordinances.

Sec. 14.6.d. and Sec. 38:

Provision of rain/water

catchment, cisterns and

other storage facilities.

Sec. 47: Proviso for new

buildings.

The requirement that new

buildings should have

rainwater capture or storage

facilities is the same for both

ordinances

Sec. 48: Occupancy Permit New inclusion in the

Environment Code

Sec. 45 and Sec. 46:

Incentives

New inclusion in the

Environment Code

Sec. 101: Inventory of water

capacity


Environment Code

Sec. 104: Amnesty period for

unregistered extractors


Environment Code

Sec. 123: Water Resource

Recharge Fee


Environment Code

Sec. 22: Annual verification

of water sourcers and

extractors

Written in the Water Code

but omitted in the

Environment Code

106

II. Recommendations

The passage of the Baguio Water Code and the Baguio Environment Code are huge

developments in the goal of regulating water extraction in the city. Having these two local

laws is indicative that the city government is seriously undertaking the necessary steps in

safe-guarding its water resources. It bears emphasis however that the test of this

seriousness is ultimately measured by the degree of the implementation of these laws. As of

the moment, the Baguio Water Code appears to be a failure since it has not been fully put

into action. Meanwhile, the Environment Code was just passed in June 2016. As such, it is

still premature to evaluate the scale of its execution. Nevertheless, below are some ideas

that maybe included in the conversation among policy makers to hopefully improve on the

existing laws:

1. Central to the non-implementation of the Baguio Water Code are the contending

positions of the NWRB and the city government; the former asserts its authority as the

sole issuer of water permits while the latter contends that such authority can be devolved

to the local government unit. To recall, the City Environment Code directly copies some

of the provisions of the Baguio Water Code on this matter. Should the NWRB continue to

insist on its stance that it has the monopoly to award water rights, it is feared that the

provisions of the City Environment Code on water regulation will suffer the same fate as

that of the Baguio Water Code. This may also result in the non-implementation of the

Environment Code.

Conscious of this obstacle, Section 174 of the Baguio Environment Code states that the

CWRB will be “proposed to be the deputized agent of NWRB in Baguio City.” Although

this is a proactive step on the part of the City government, the fundamental issue on

whether the city can grant water rights still remains. As of now, what the NWRB has been

deputizing to other agencies is the task to “[a]ccept, investigate and submit reports with

recommendations on water permit applications.”12 Notice that what is being delegated by

the NWRB is the power to recommend but not the power to grant the water permit. Given

these layers of uncertainty about the power of the local government to issue water

permits, it would not be in the interest of the city if this will again be the root cause of the

freezing of the Environment Code provisions on water extraction.

If one of the goals in passing the City Environment Code and the City Water Code is to

regulate water extraction, the city government can actually exercise its regulative

capacity even without issuing city water permits. For example, for those engaged in the

trade of water, the requirement to secure a city water permit indicated in Section 115 of

the Environment Code may just be added as a requirement for the issuance or renewal of

the city business license. Alongside these however, the city must also require the

submission by the businessman of the NWRB-issued water permit.

For the households, it is important that the local government obtains data regarding their

water source for enhanced government regulation. Perhaps it is prudent to require a

water-source plan before the issuance of a building permit. Regardless however of the

12

Joint flyer of DENR and NWRB flyer entitled “Why we need to register/apply for a water permit.”

107

shape or form of how this is to be done, it is imperative to start imagining a situation

where the city government can still impose its regulative power over water extraction

without having to issue a city water permit, considering the legal difficulties now being

raised against the implementation of the ordinance.

2. Should the city however maintain its posture that it needs to issue city water permits, the

ordinances need revisiting to clarify some confusing provisions regarding the issuer of the

water permit. As earlier pointed out, Section 114 of the Environment Code mentions

various city offices while Section 175.d. identifies the city mayor as issuer of the permit.

There is a need to reconcile these two provisions to clarify the office that is really

designated to issue such a city water permit. It must be noted as well that in identifying

the office which is tasked to issue such permits, one should consider whether the office

carries the necessary expertise on water-related issues.

3. It is noteworthy that the city ordinances also require well drillers to submit a report about

their activities. It is equally commendable that the local laws require the accreditation of

the well drillers. Both requisites are geared towards regulating the proliferation of deep

wells in the city. What complicates the matter however is that Section 118 of the

Environment Code directs the well drillers to submit their documents for accreditation to

the Baguio Water District (BWD). Note that the BWD is a national government agency

which is entirely independent from the city government. As such, a question can be

raised on whether one agency can impose upon the other. Jurisdictional issues may

muddle the implementation of the Environmental Code’s provision regarding accreditation

of well drillers. A rethinking of the provisions where other independent agencies are being

involved should be made to ensure that the city government’s regulatory powers are not

unnecessarily hindered. In the case of the accreditation of the well drillers, one possible

resolution is to instruct that the requirements under Section 118 become additional

prerequisites for the issuance of the water driller’s business license. In this way, the city

preserves its power to regulate the well drillers without necessarily implicating the BWD.

4. The provision on the verification of water sourcers and extractors which is written under

Section 22 of the Baguio Water Code is conspicuously omitted in the Environment Code.

This verification provision is an appropriate regulatory measure to keep track of the

amount of water being extracted. Since many of the provisions of the Baguio Water Code

found their way in the Baguio Environment Code, it is recommended also that this

stipulation on verification be included.

5. One of the important provisions added in the Environment Code is the instruction to

“conduct an inventory of all watershed and water resources” (Section 102). Needless to

say, one can only properly regulate if the necessary and complete information are

available to the regulator. It is therefore suggested that the city immediately implement

this task of water mapping. It is further proposed that a census of the water sources of all

building owners in the city be conducted. A way to do this is to require building owners to

answer a form when they pay their real property tax. Having a comprehensive data on

the sources of water users would aid the concerned agencies in framing the policies

needed to protect the remaining water resources in the city.

108

References:

DENR and NWRB. 2015. Why we need to register/apply for a water permit (Flyer).

Environment Code of the City of Baguio. 2016.

Executive Order No. 124-A. 1987. Amending Executive Order No. 124, dated 30

January 1987, Reorganizing the Department of Public Works and Highways,

Redefining its powers and functions and for other purposes.

Ordinance Numbered 13. 2007. Water Code of the City of Baguio.

Presidential Decree No. 424. 1974. Creating a National Water Resources Council,

Reconstituting its Membership, Vesting the Same with Powers to Coordinate and

Integrate Water Resources Development, and Providing Funds Therefor.

Presidential Decree No. 1067. 1976. The Water Code of the Philippines.

Other Sources:

Focus Group Discussion with officers from CEPMO and DENR-CAR held 7 July 2016.

Interview with Engr. Simeon L. Micklay, Section Chief, Water Resource Use Section

(WRUS), DENR-CAR.

109

ANNEX L: PILOT-TESTING WATER FILTRATION IN IRISAN

One component of the research on ‘Engaging Communities and the City Government in

Addressing Water Security, Sanitation and Urban Resilience in Baguio City’ is to pilot test

water filtration in a selected Baguio barangay. The site of the pilot testing was to be selected

on the basis of a number of considerations. Foremost among these was the condition that

the water utilized by residents in the area must come from a natural source and that there is

no access to BWD water.

Barangay Irisan was the most suitable location for the experiment since its residents have a

community water system being operated by the Irisan Community Environmental Multi

Purpose Cooperative. The water system was a project funded by the Jaime V. Ongpin

Foundation (JVOFI) and the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF).

According to its custodian, the water comes from a cave and reaches the Cooperative’s

water tank through pipes. It takes about 4 hours for the water tank to be filled. The collected

water is treated with chlorine and then distributed to households. The distribution process

follows a rotating schedule per cluster of households given the capacity of the water tank.

The households have their own water meters. They pay 75 pesos per cubic meter. They pay

about twice as much as BWD’s pricing which is at 38 pesos per cubic meter for the first 10

cubic meters or 380 pesos. Ten cubic meters is the minimum consumption level. Even when

a consumer uses less than 10 cubic meters, he/she pays the minimum of 380 pesos for

BWD water.

Upon checking the barangay, it was decided that the Irisan Elementary School is the best

location to conduct the pilot-testing experiment. The Irisan Elementary School is located at

Purok 15, which is about 20 minutes from the city proper. The school uses two types of

water. The first one is spring water which the cooperative distributes to households and to

the school. The other type is rain water.

There are separate tanks for both types of water - thus, the arrangement seemed very

conducive for the experiment. During the rainy season, the school harvests rainwater

through the roof gutter. They assured that the school’s roof is high enough to dissuade cats

from climbing and littering on it. Rainwater from the gutter flows straight to a water tank. A

sack cloth is placed at the mouth of the tank to filter any residue. The rainwater is used for

washing dishes and even for cooking.

Spring water that is distributed by the Cooperative is stored in a separate water tank. This

water is used for cleaning or other purposes during the rainy season. During the summer

however water from the spring is also piped into the tank for rainwater since it is the only

source for water. The water from the tank is released through a faucet that empties into a

sink. During the time of the study, it was confirmed that the ‘rainwater tank’ contained only

pure rainwater since the rainy season had already begun.

The first step in the conduct of the experiment was to establish ‘baseline’ information on the

characteristics of water taken from both spring water and rainwater. These water samples

were brought to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) at La Trinidad,

Benguet, for the physico-chemical and the microbiological analysis. Another set of samples

110

was brought to the CRL Environmental Corporation in Pampanga for the metal test – i.e. to

detect the presence of iron, lead and manganese.

Three tests were carried out for the water samples. The first test was for water samples

collected and submitted on 19 July 2016. Following DOST guidelines, 2L of water from each

source was drawn for the physico-chemical Test, 300 mL each for the microbiological test

and 1L each for the metal test. The samples for the metal test were placed in an ice box with

ice and were immediately sent to the Pampanga laboratory. The other two samples were

brought to the DOST lab.

When the test results were obtained, Chemistry Professor Ofelia Giron of the College of

Science, University of the Philippines Baguio, provided the following analysis and

recommendations.

Findings:

1. Spring Water (SW) is NOT suitable for DRINKING without proper treatment a. mainly because the results of the microbiological tests show very high

values for the presence of fecal coliform (the values for the total coliform count & E.coli are even identical implying that the microorganisms present are of the fecal type that are known to cause diarrhea & dysentery)

b. secondly, the total dissolved solids (TDS) value is very close to the allowable value.

2. Rain Water (RW) is suitable for drinking as long as it undergoes prior boiling to

completely eliminate the microorganisms present.

Recommendations:

1. Additional disinfection such as chlorination is needed for the spring water with

the correct amounts to be determined following proper procedures. Yet, there

is the need to ensure that chloride levels are NOT above the health-based

guideline value of 250 mg/L. When this level is surpassed, the condition may

result to increased levels of metals that are known to chemically interact with

chloride ions. Some of these metals are deleterious to human health.

Calculations cannot be provided at the time of the analysis because the

actual chlorination method that was used – e.g. what chloride salt was used,

etc. - was not specified.

2. In addition to chlorination, boiling the water prior to its use will decrease the

amount of E. coli. No problems are foreseen with thermophilic coliform types

as the total coliform count and E.coli values are identical implying that the

contamination is only due to E. coli

3. TDS is not a measure of any single contaminant but a high TDS content can

affect the taste and appearance of water. The options for treating TDS

content depend upon which compounds make up the dissolved solids content

of the specific water source. Since the results for calcium and magnesium

show appreciable amounts, the high TDS maybe due to these two

111

substances. To prevent excessive intake of these substances (although the

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) under the label “Standard” shown in

the last column of the test results [see attached July 21, 2016 Report of

Analysis] are still much above the amounts of calcium and magnesium in the

water sample), traditional salt-based softeners can be integrated in the water

filters to be used for treating the water prior to its use.

4. As to the rain water, boiling as a treatment process is strongly recommended

to completely eliminate the coliforms present.

5. For both rain water and spring water samples, the Heterotrophic Plate Count

(HPC) will have to be monitored further or after the recommended treatments

are undertaken. There is no health-based standard for HPC but there is the

concern that at concentrations above 500 CFU/mL, heterotrophic bacteria

can interfere with some total coliform and E. coli recovery methods.

Accordingly, treatment techniques should aim to control HPC concentrations

to less than 500 CFU/mL.

Based on the results of this first sample, the conclusion was that the spring water and rain

water were not safe to drink without some additional treatment. Boiling of water is a method

that is usually and regularly done by many poor households based on the recent household

survey of 2016. Thus, the idea was to test for whether a commercial locally-available water

filter can be used to improve the quality of the spring water. Specifically, the idea was to test

whether a water filter will be able to improve the microbiological quality of the water.

The team purchased a commercial water filter with a ceramic filter made of diatomite, as

advised by Prof. Giron, the project’s resource person for this ‘experiment.’ A second sample

was obtained for the spring water on August 16, 2016. To obtain a sample for the

microbiological analysis, the upper container was filled with approximately 12L of water from

the tank containing spring water. It took approximately 2 hours for the 12L of water to be

filtered. A 300mL sample of filtered spring water was taken to the DOST Lab for analysis.

The test results from the microbiological analysis showed that the values for the total

coliform, E.coli and heterotrophic plate count were way above the allowed values. With

these results, it was concluded that the water filtration process performed by the commercial

water filter did not succeed in improving the microbiological characteristics of the spring

water.

It is worth mentioning here that although the spring water may be safe and clean AT

SOURCE, the pipes used to distribute it to various households and the placement of these

pipes in areas that may have been part of the old Irisan dumpsite may have caused

contamination of water. This contamination, unfortunately, was not eliminated by the water

filtration device used in the experiment.

The decision was made to proceed ONLY with the rainwater sample given that the first

sample results of the rainwater indicated that it was potable and can be made safe for

drinking when accompanied with boiling.

Two samples were obtained on August 23, 2016. One sample was made to pass through

the commercial water filter while the other one was UNFILTERED.

112

A sample of 300mL of water was taken straight from the water tank and the second sample

was filtered through the commercial water filter. Both samples were again brought to the

DOST Lab for microbiological analysis.

The results of the analysis of the sample rainwater are shown below:

Table 12: Water Test Results

Microbiological

parameter

Rainwater

BEFORE

filtration

Rain water

AFTER

filtration

Standard

Total coliform count 240 MPN*

100 mL

24,000 MPN

100 mL

1000 MPN

100 mL

E. coli 49 MPN

100 mL

2,400 MPN

100 mL

100 MPN

100 mL

Heterotrophic Plate

Count

12,850

CFU/mL

256,500

CFU/mL

<500 CFU

mL *Most probable number

These results were a cause of concern for the team. While the experiment was conducted

through the advice and guidance of Chemistry professor Ofelia Giron, the results revealed

that the filtered water is not safe for drinking and that the water filtration device that was

purchased may not be working effectively. Upon consultation with Prof. Giron, the following

possible explanations were given:

1. Hypothesis One: The water samples may have been interchanged in the course of the analysis. The Research Assistant, however, asked the DOST personnel if this could be the case but she apparently got the assurance that the samples were properly labeled and tested and that they were not, in any way, interchanged.

2. Hypothesis Two: The filter was overloaded/supersaturated with bacteria from its first use that even if you wash it with water, a multitude remained and since they multiply in very short time, the coliform counts (total coliform count and E. coli) remained high.

3. Hypothesis Three: The filter needed to be changed after just one use. This means that the water filtration device that was selected for the experiment is inefficient.

In light of these findings, the team decided to stop the experiment and find alternative ways

to address this concern over water quality in Irisan Elementary School instead. One possible

way to address this challenge is to promote the boiling of water for drinking and/or to

supervise disinfection of water through chlorination to be done at the water tank located

within the school. This will be discussed and explored by the team in their ‘closure’ meeting

with the principal of Irisan Elementary School and the water supply operator of the Irisan

Multipurpose Cooperative

113

Photos

Facade of the Irisan Community Environmental Multi Purpose Cooperative Building. Taken

on 28 June 2016 by Emma Daquigan.

Irisan Cooperative Water Storage Facility. Taken on 28 June 2016 by Emma Daquigan.

114

Tanks for rainwater harvesting (left) and for storing spring water. Taken on 28 June 2016 by

Emma Daquigan.

Extracting Water Samples for Testing. Taken on 19 July 2016 by Emma Daquigan.

115

Extracting sample of water that passed through a commercial water filter. Taken on 23

August 2016 by Emma Daquigan.

116

ANNEX M: WATER SAMPLE TEST RESULTS

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

ANNEX N: DEVELOPMENT OF INFORMATION, EDUCATION

AND COMMUNICATION (IEC) MATERIALS

The development and production of IEC materials builds on the project proponents’

conviction that for Baguio residents to be water secure and resilient vis-à-vis the challenges

of climate change and urbanization, their mindset and water utilization behaviors need to be

informed by scientific information.

As will be described below, the development of IEC materials took into account the findings

of the earlier study.

The survey results of the 2015 IIED study revealed that 49.4% of Baguio City households

practice rainwater harvesting. Considering that on a yearly basis the city receives significant

amounts rainfall compared with other Philippine cities or municipalities, the finding indicates

that Baguio residents have indeed adopted water maximizing behaviors to address the city’s

paradoxical water scarce situation.

The 2015 IIED survey also revealed that 85.3% of Baguio households rely on water refilling

stations for drinking water. The finding indicates the Baguio residents’ adaptive response to

the need to access potable water in the city.

The practice of rainwater harvesting and reliance on water refilling stations however carry

risks as was revealed during the conduct of the project’s RTDs, FGDs, KIIs, and consultation

activities. In the case of rainwater harvesting, there is the danger of the spread of mosquito-

borne diseases. Moreover, while rainwater is ‘clean’ for general household use – e.g. dish

washing, bathing, washing clothes, household cleaning, and cooking - but not for drinking,

rainwater that passes through ‘unclean’ roofs, gutters, and downspouts, and collected in

‘unclean’ containers may not be as sanitary and useful. In the case of the relying on refilling

stations, the conduct of FGDs and RTDs revealed that not all refilling stations in the city

have permits and/or comply with the prescribed regulatory requirements.

For these reasons, a poster on proper rainwater harvesting and stickers informing the public

on features of legit water refilling stations were developed by the project proponents. The

posters are meant to be placed in public bulletin boards like those found in barangay halls

and health centers. The stickers are intended to be attached to plastic containers or

dispensers often used by water refilling stations. Realization by the project proponents that

pamphlets often end up unread by the general public after distribution prompted the project

proponents to develop and produce stickers instead of pamphlets.

In line with the study’s focus on water security in Baguio City from the perspective of

households, the team decided to make households the main target of its information,

education and communication material.

125

Below are samples of the posters and stickers that were produced:

a. IEC Material (Poster)

126

b. IEC Materials (Stickers)

127

The stickers can serve as ‘IDs’ (identifiers) for households that want to ‘name’ or ‘tag’ their

water bottles so they will not be lost or exchanged with others’. As suggested above, the

information contained in the stickers aims to encourage households to pro-actively check the

qualifications of their drinking water provider through visual inspection, instead of merely

assuming that their drinking water provider complies with water quality standards.

128

ANNEX O: BAGUIO CITY MAYOR MAURICIO DOMOGAN ENDORSEMENT

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