OMF to provide underserved areas with clean water

MANILA, Philippines — One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the social development arm of power distributor Manila Electric Co.,  is embarking on a program to provide underserved communities with safe, clean, and reliable water source.

The OMF said it has installed a three-kilowatt portable solar photovoltaic system to power up the Sitio Sapang Munti community’s integrated water system, which provides access to potable supply that can be used for drinking, bathing, washing, and cooking.

Following the electrification, the water facility built by the Manila Water Foundation,can now filter, store, and distribute up to 10,000 liters of potable water through strategically placed communal faucets 24/7.

The OMF said the energization of the community’s water facility would provide over 100 families of the Dumagat Tribe living in Norzagaray, Bulacan clean and safe water supply.

With no access to a water system, members of the Dumagat Tribe previously relied solely on water that flows from the stream and spring for their daily needs even if their community is situated within the confines of the Ipo Watershed, the OMF said.

The energization of the integrated water facility is the first initiative of OMF for its Electrification for Water Access program which aims to provide underserved communities with safe, clean, and reliable water source

“While having access to potable water is a basic need and right, this still remains elusive for many Filipinos,” OMF president and Meralco chief corporate social responsibility officer Jeffrey Tarayao said.

“To help bridge the gap, OMF has taken steps to help bring basic needs such as water and electricity closer to as many underserved communities as possible,” Tarayao said.

The OMF is also continuously beefing up its sustainable reforestation program which seeks to contribute to environment preservation and community improvement.

Under the One For Trees program, the OMF provides funding for reforestation activities such as establishment of nurseries, planting of seedlings during the appropriate season, and continued monitoring of the trees planted.

OMF plans to nurture and protect at least five million trees by 2025, while providing sustainable livelihood to communities around conservation sites.