THE retail price per gallon of drinking water in remote areas has been slashed by about 50 percent by the Water Resources Management Office (WRMO), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Sunday.
Residents in remote barangay (villages) receiving water in situ (in the original place) and served by local water districts in Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Leyte, Negros Oriental, and Cagayan can buy water at P15 per container, lower than the commercial rate of P23 to P35.
This was a result of the WRMO‘s installing high-grade refilling equipment in the aforementioned provinces through its Institutional Support and Expansion to Water Districts program in 2025, the DENR said.
Water refilling station facilities were provided to six of the WRMO‘s targeted 24 sites. These projects have served over 30,000 individuals in 2025, based on estimates by the agency.
It has also extended a total of P100 million in financial assistance to 11 water districts, allowing for service expansion to over 72,000 beneficiaries in unserved remote barangay.
In addition, the WRMO has also proposed to include 13 sites to connect an estimated 35,000 residents to the water service grid this year.
Meanwhile, in other remote island communities in Romblon, Sorsogon, Occidental Mindoro, and Zamboanga City, residents can now buy water for P20-P25 per container, a decrease from the previous price of P50-P70 per container, the DENR said.
This was made possible by the WRMO‘s Water Filtration Program in isolated small island communities in the aforementioned provinces, designed to turn saline and fresh water into potable water. Fees collected by barangay from water purchases are used for the maintenance and operations of the water system.
Also last year, the WMRO installed the system in six sites in the same provinces. This year, it has opened two more sites in Bohol and Bulacan. The remaining sites in Zamboanga City, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, and Eastern Samar are nearing completion. The agency aims to benefit over 70,000 individuals by the yearend.
In 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order 22 creating the WRMO to harmonize national water security.
“The creation of the WRMO under the president‘s mandate has allowed us to move from being mere regulators to being systems-builders,” said DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna.
This year, the WRMO wants to provide safe water access to over 440,000 individuals nationwide. A P256.9-million funding allocation supports these efforts, with the aim of reaching over 220,000 new beneficiaries.
