When I contemplate on a bottle of drinking water I am overcome with the sadness, frustration, and confusion of moral indignation:
A liter of premium gasoline costs P11.83. Diesel fuel is around P8.26. About the same price for 500 ml. or half a liter of bottled water.
Water resource management has become a political issue in Metro Cebu. One that is rife with health, social and environmental implications far beyond market economy considerations.
It all became muddy clear to me when I attended a workshop on Urban Water Issues in Metro Cebu last Tuesday, June 17 in Cebu City. The Presidential Task Force on Water Resource Development and Management commissioned the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) in Manila, who in turn commissioned the University of San Carlos' Water Resource Center (WRC) here in Cebu to conduct studies and surveys. The workshop was the venue to formally present these researches to a select group of water experts from the academe, government agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and industry.
The Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) was of course represented. So was the company I work for -- San Miguel Corporation, this country's largest manufacturer of beer, soft drink, bottled water and other beverages.
Four reports were presented and discussed during the workshop. These will be duly cited at the end of this write-up, but for now I will be liberally quoting from these studies in italics in presenting my personal non-expert reactions in normal font.
A RAPIDLY GROWING METROPOLIS
Metro Cebu is the second largest urban center in the country, with a population of more than 1.3 million people and covering three cities and five municipalities within a 544 sq.km. of land area. (Included are Cebu City, Mandaue City, Lapu-lapu City, Cordova, Talisay, Consolacion, Liloan, and Compostela).
It comprises almost half of the entire population of Cebu province, but only 14% of its land area. About half of Metro Cebu's population and land area are in Cebu City which has historically been the commercial and service center of the Visayas and Northern Mindanao regions, as well as the home base of the country's major shipping companies. Outside Metro Manila, Metro Cebu has the highest concentration of major hospital, educational, and medical training services.
Over the past decade, Metro Cebu has been drawing substantial industrial investments attracted by the rapid infrastructure (air, port, and land transport facilities) development, presence of trainable manpower, strong trade and services network, and adequate living amenities. Metro Cebu currently accounts for 70% of Central Visayas' industrial output; the Mactan Export Processing Zone (MEPZA) alone with its 101 firms and over 38,000 employees contributes over 60% of its total exports.
Tourism has also become a major source of growth of its economy, as Metro Cebu has become the top destination of tourists. Aside from its historical significance and natural attractions, peace and order condition is relatively good, infrastructure is well developed, and modern shipping facilities provide access to other tourist destinations in nearby islands.
In contrast to the progressive overall economic development of Metro Cebu, the state of its water resource management and quality of its water utility service are of serious concern to the various sectors of the economy. (Indeed, a multi-sectoral coalition called the Cebu Uniting for Sustainable Water was formed to lobby for improvements in water resource management. Thus far, this is the only such organized effort in the country, reflecting the serious nature of the problem in Metro Cebu.
THE POOR PAY MORE
The first paper presented was a study on the household water demand in Metro Cebu. It didn't reveal much that was not already common knowledge among the participants, but the survey provided hard data and figures to validate this knowledge and previous reports.
MCWD supplies at most 30% of Metro Cebu's water requirements. The other sources of water for domestic use are private water works, own wells, and vended water. Private water works primarily cater to residential subdivisions. The study showed that about 4% of households account for this, and 18% of household are self-supplied by private deepwells. Another 6% use own well-water in conjunction with other sources of water supply, i.e. MCWD and vended water.
A significant number of low-income households (earning below P30,000/ month) have been provided by public faucets (10%), However, the number of families relying solely on vended water is higher, accounting for at least 12% of households. If households partially dependent on vended water are included, private market markets easily cater to at least 30% of Metro Cebu households. The most common practice of water vending is to purchase from the source using containers such as pails and gallons. It is interesting to note that the majority of households buying water (20% of total households) actually purchase water from neighbors with MCWD water connections.
The cost of water may be expected to vary widely across different water sources. And for MCWD and private water works, the tariff structure is progressive, i.e., increasing at higher rates of water consumption.
The lowest price of water is enjoyed by households connected to the MCWD and private water works, averaging P12/cum.
In contrast … households relying on vended water pay about five times for water that has to be picked up from a neighbor source or transported through a hose. When the vended water is delivered by tricycle, carts, jeeps, or trucks, the price of water is more than P100/cum -- almost ten times the price of water for households with tap water from MCWD or private water works.
The cost of self-supplied water from deepwells using electric pump is higher than MCWD water, but still way below that of vended water. While the direct cost of from an artesian well may be lower, this does not include the cost of inconvenience of hauling up and down rope tied cans or pails and of not having tap water.
Average water consumption is highest among households dependent on private water works, although that of MCWD household customers is only slightly lower. About 70% of households served consume less than 30 cum/month, while up to 50% of household using the private water works system have consumption rate way beyond that level. It should be noted that because of water rationing of tap water from both sources, the actual average water consumption is effectively suppressed … Average water service is 21 hours for MCWD and 18 hours for private water works.
Nearly all households dependent on vended water consume less than 10cum/month or a low per capita consumption of about 30 to 40 liters per day.
The report concluded that the very high price of water paid by the poor largely explain their low water consumption. Close to 10% of their income goes to water, while for households earning P30,000-P39,000 the water bill only accounts for 4.07% of its monthly income. Low consumption of safe drinking water in turn has a significant impact on health and welfare.
In the ensuing discussion, representatives of Expertelligence and MCWD referred to a previous study by the former explaining the social factors for the poor's lack of access to MCWD connections. Three reasons were cited: the requirements (red tape and bureaucracy), high cost of installation, and MCWD's lack of transmission lines.
The president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry asserted that he finds it hard to believe that people would put up paying 10 times more for vended water and go through the inconvenience of queuing, getting water of dubious quality in pails for their daily needs. It was pointed out that installation of own wells generally requires ownership of land and dwelling. This option rules out many of the low-income households, particularly squatters.
If safe drinking water is a basic right, why then is it available at a lower price to those who can afford to own property, a deepwell or a piped connection … and hardly available to the poor who pay more for it?
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SOURCES
Understanding Household Water Demand for Metro Cebu, by Francisco M. Largo (USC), Dr. Arlene B. Inocencio (PIDS), and Dr. Christina C. David (PIDS).
A Characterization of Commercial and Industrial Water Demand, by A. Inocencio, C. David, and F. Largo.
On-going Potential Water Supply Expansion Projects, by Engr. Ed L. Walag (WRC)
The Case for Policy and Institutional Reforms in Metro Cebu by C. David, A. Inocencio, F. Largo and E. Walag.