99% of energy targets met

During the Arroyo years, electrification of 99 percent of all barangays was achieved.

Access to water and electricity in barangays across the country improved remarkably over the past decade, data and statements from government agencies disclose. Jesus Tamang, Department of Energy director, said that as of March 31, 2010 the government has accomplished the electrification of more than 99 percent of all the country’s 42,000 barangays. Only 77 percent of barangays had electricity in 2001.

This leaves only 105 barangays to complete government’s 100-percent electrification target.

On the other hand, Vic Paragas, National Water Resources Board (NWRB) executive director, said that the country now has more than 6,000 water providers composed of water districts, local government unit-run utilities, small-scale operators and large private companies.

“Compared to previous years, improvement has been great. Access to water has significantly improved,” he said.

Although Paragas did not cite current figures, data from the NWRB showed that a joint study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the World Health Organization (WHO) found that as of 2004, 85 percent of the population had access to improved water supply.

Because of the country’s segmented topography, however, a number of communities still do not enjoy round-the-clock electricity and piped water supply.

From 2001 up to the first half of 2009, the government spent P49 billion, or roughly P6,000 a connection for each barangay under its electrification program.

As of last year, however, 30,033 of 90,290 sitios—or far flung communities smaller than barangays—throughout the country still did not have electricity.

The National Electrification Administrator (NEA), which supervises electric cooperatives’ electrification campaign, said that one of the primary hitches to bringing electricity to the entire populace has been the peace and order situation and remoteness of a number of areas in the country.

On the other hand, the Unicef-WHO joint monitoring program found that in 2004 only 45 percent of the population had water piped to their homes. In urban areas, only 58 percent of the population was found connected to piped water.

This has left a large portion of the population having to resort to tapping private wells, river/spring systems, small-scale independent providers, and entrepreneurs with water tankers or neighborhood water vendors.

Paragas said that the country needed to bring in more capital to improve its water infrastructure and to arrest pollution that has affected its water sources.

“Bottomline is we need investors and government support. In other words, capital and political will,” he said. –EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO REPORTER, Manila Times