The first Philippine water access project against El Niño was started in Davao Oro
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PROJECT LAWA. Representatives of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, partner agencies and local government units sign a memorandum of agreement Thursday (Aug. 31, 2023) for the establishment of Project LAWA (Local Adaptation to Water Access) that would be piloted in Monkayo, Davao de Oro. Two other towns in the province – Laak and Compostela – will benefit from the project, which aims to combat water scarcity brought by the El Niño phenomenon. (PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.)
MindanaoHerald | The first Philippine water access project against El Niño was started in Davao Oro | MONKAYO, Davao de Oro – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) started Project LAWA (Local Adaptation to Water Access) in the Philippines’ first test area on Thursday.
Director of DSWD 11 (Davao Region) Vanessa Goc-ong said that the project’s main goal is to help communities hit by drought adjust to interventions that make it easier for people to get water when El Nio happens.
“It wants to come up with long-term solutions and put in place interventions that will help the communities deal with the problems they face when there is a severe drought and there isn’t enough water,” Goc-ong said in her presentation.
She said that besides this county, the towns of Laak and Compostela will also take part in the project. The main goal of the project is to build physical assets for the community, especially water ponds, which are important for keeping economic activities going.
“This is the first time it’s been done in the Philippines, and it’s being tested here in Monkayo. We hope to finish the job this year by or before September 15,” Goc-ong said.
She said that the people who will benefit from the project must be on the DSWD’s Listahanan, be physically able, and be part of a farmer’s group.
“Beneficiaries can also be members of DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Programme, Risk Resilience Programme, and other vulnerable sectors,” she said.
Goc-ong said that they are currently figuring out who will benefit from the project at the three sites. The project will give cash for training and work, as well as extra income to vulnerable areas.
The cash-for-work programme helped 68-year-old Edmund Lawian, who said he was grateful for the project because it would help his family financially.
“I have a child in college, and my pay will help my child a lot. “This helps us a lot,” he said in an interview.
In his message, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, who was represented by Diana Rose Cajipe, the Undersecretary for Disaster Response Management Group, said that the project is the government’s way of fighting El Nio and helping the injured farmers directly.
“This will help the community right away, which could be hurt by a long drought,” Gatchalian wrote in his message.(via PNA)
