CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Municipality of Opol in Misamis Oriental province has started its upgrade of potable bulk water projects in two villages.
The contract of Cagayan de Oro City Water District (COWD) with South Balibago Water Resources Incorporated will initially cover Barangay Igpit and Barangay Malanang, according to a statement on Sunday.
COWD engineering head Moses Echano said along with the local government, they identified an elevated area to test the capability of pipes from the surface source in Bulao River in Barangay Iponan here.
Opol and this city are situated beside each other, with the river subdividing their jurisdictions.
"If the quality is proven and it can cope with the demand of the residents of the entire town, that's the time to make a Memorandum of Understanding for a bulk water supply," he said, noting a similar agreement of COWD with the Cagayan de Oro Bulk Water Inc. for the city's supply.
Opol Mayor Jay Bago said the water supply will be operational by Monday after the weekend disinfection.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) gave financial aid to Misamis Occidental province residents whose houses and livelihood were affected by a flash flood in December 2022.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian led the payout in Oroquieta City on Saturday, with 6,037 beneficiaries receiving PHP13,680 under the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) program.
Misamis Occidental Governor Henry Oaminal met with Gatchalian to request for assistance for 21,000 affected residents.
The DSWD said the others will be prioritized this year.
The ECT is an adaptive strategy of DSWD to bridge the gap between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response, and early recovery support in disasters and emergencies by providing unconditional cash assistance to disaster-affected families.
One of the beneficiaries, 39-year-old Excelo Lumasag Mira, said he will use the money to start over again by buying seedlings and other farming materials.
The province was placed under a state of calamity due to heavy rains that caused continuous flooding and affected 49 villages over the Christmas weekend in 2022.
On Christmas Day itself, the Palayan River overflowed to the highway and affected four villages while in Panaon town, two villages were slightly affected.
In Oroquieta City, the water level of Layawan River rose and inundated the public market and the villages of Poblacion 2, Talic, San Vicente Bajo, and Pines, which are situated along the highway. (PNA)
