The municipality of Alegria is seeking immediate assistance from the Cebu Provincial Government as it grapples with a worsening water shortage that has left thousands of residents with limited access to water.
Mayor Dr. Gilberto F. Magallon said restoring the town’s water system has become one of his administration’s top priorities, prompting him to appeal for support from Governor Pamela Baricuatro.
“Our big challenge now in our municipality is about the water. We already declared a state of calamity because of our water problem. I hope Gov. Pam and the provincial government can also help us. This is one of our urgent requests from the governor,” Magallon said.
The mayor said about 44 percent of Alegria’s population has been affected by the shortage, particularly residents of Barangays Madridejos, Valencia, and Compostela.
To speed up the government’s response, the municipal government declared a state of calamity after obtaining the necessary resolutions from the local council.
Magallon said the declaration would allow the municipality to fast-track the release of funds and immediately implement measures to address the growing water demand.
“We declared a state of calamity so that the processing of what we need, especially in budgeting and finance, will be faster because we wanted to respond immediately,” he said.
According to Magallon, the water crisis is the result of years of infrastructure problems rather than a single event.
He said Alegria’s water system was developed through the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), a flagship program of the Department of Agriculture funded by the World Bank, the national government, and participating local government units.
The project, with an estimated cost of P95 million, was proposed by the municipality between 2015 and 2016 but encountered implementation issues before it was turned over to the local government.
“There was a problem with the implementation. Before it was turned over to us, there were still unfinished portions. It was not fully realized, and eventually we accepted the turnover,” Magallon said.
The situation worsened after Typhoon Odette damaged much of Alegria’s water infrastructure, particularly its distribution system.
Because the municipality relies largely on surface water from creeks, Magallon said flooding caused by the typhoon severely affected water sources and damaged several facilities.
He added that subsequent road concreting projects also unintentionally damaged water pipelines because many of the pipes had already been laid along roadsides or beneath sections that were later paved.
“Although we have many water sources, our problem is our system. The pipelines were damaged and that remains our challenge until now,” he said.
As a temporary measure, Alegria entered into a verbal agreement with neighboring Badian to supply water to the Balhaan area while the municipality works on a long-term solution.
Magallon thanked Badian Mayor Jerome Librando and village officials for extending assistance to Alegria during the ongoing water shortage.
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