• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod City government turned over 17 stainless-steel water tanks, each with a 2,000-liter capacity, to barangays Villamonte, Handumanan, and Mansilingan, even as water rationing continues today, April 12, in Mansilingan, Villamonte, Handumanan, Estefania, Taculing, 27, and 33.
Ten tanks were distributed to puroks Himaya and Paghidaet in Mansilingan; puroks San Antonio, Cadena De Amor, Tapulanga Hills, Narra, Golden Rosary, and Mahogany in Handumanan; and in Isla and Gugma in Brgy. Villamonte.
The city Public Information Office said the budget for the purchase of these tanks came from the Bacolod Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, headed by Dr. Anna Maria Laarni Pornan, and is part of Mayor Alfredo Benitez’s “Patubig sa Barangay” program to address water shortage in most areas of the city due to the prolonged El Niño.
The city has partnered with the Manila Water Company Inc., Manila Water Foundation, Philippine Red Cross, Amity and Chamber Volunteer fire brigades, and the Office of Councilor Cindy Rojas in the “Patubig sa Barangay”.
Water rationing was done April 11 in Barangay Mansilingan, covering puroks Paghida-et, Gardenia, Punay, Flordeliz, and Himaya, and benefiting 35 households or 188 individuals, the city said.
On April 10, the Patubig beneficiaries included residents in Eroreco as well as in puroks Puerto Del Sol, Casiana, and Sulom in Barangay Mandalagan; Purok Isla in Villamonte, with 582 households or 1,032 individuals as recipients; and in puroks Golden Rosary and Cadena de Amor in Brgy. Handumanan, where 13,000 liters of water were distributed to 110 households, or 930 individuals.
Benitez also said 843 households in six puroks of Brgy. 27 benefited from the water rationing and distribution April 9.
He earlier urged residents to coordinate with their respective barangays for water rationing, and thanked the city’s partners “for their collaboration in addressing the pressing needs of our people during this challenging period of El Niño.” | CGC
