Over a quarter of a million poor Filipino families previously exposed to deadly waterborne diseases due to a lack of safe water facilities are now reaping the benefits of a special P1.4 billion water program initiated by President Arroyo to allow waterless households outside Metro Manila access to potable water and sanitation services, the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) announced recently.

NAPC Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban said the Arroyo government has built water systems for some 265,012 households outside Metro Manila in the three years that the government has implemented the President's Priority Program on Water (P3W).

President Arroyo had instructed NAPC to coordinate and oversee the P3W effort through a presidential directive issued in November 2004.

"The President saw to a cumulative allocation of around P1.4 billion for the P3W during the course of the first three years of program implementation. This was a worthy investment considering the fact that the program has helped to increase the Filipino people's access to safe water by some 30%," he said.

The NAPC chief said some 886,288 homes outside Metro Manila had access to safe water in 2004.

"Today, three years after the President commenced the implementation of the P3W program, more than 1.15 million households outside the National Capital Region (NCR) have access to potable water and sanitation facilities," he added.

Director Roger Concepcion of the NAPC Water and Sanitation Coordinating Office (WASCO) said meanwhile that NAPC has overseen and directed the construction of water systems in some 1,630 barangays in 509 municipalities under the program.

Around 135 of the municipalities served by President Arroyo's special water program are in Mindanao. About 104 other beneficiary municipalities are in Luzon while another 82 are located in the Visayas," he said.