For years, Subanen families of a remote barangay in Bacungan, Zamboanga del Norte, had to travel to fetch water, requiring long walks every day to the nearest spring that would usually take 30 to 45 minutes.
A 50-cubic-meter Small Water Impounding System (SWIS) established by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region IX in barangay Sipakon, Bacungan town, last year changed that.
The project now directly benefits 80 households, providing water for domestic and agricultural needs.
With the ongoing El Niño, President Marcos directed government agencies to expedite water projects across the country and prioritize areas that may be severely affected by this weather pattern.
DENR Secretary Juan Miguel ‘Mitch’ T. Cruz emphasized the need for practical water interventions that help communities become more resilient. In Sipakon, this approach is evident in a simple yet important way, storing water closer to where people live and protecting the watershed that supplies it.
For Barangay Kagawad Ramon Dampalaya, the difference is simple: the water source is now nearby.
‘Before, we had to go far just to fetch water. Now, we have a water source nearby,’ he said.
With water now more accessible, the daily burden of fetching it has also eased. What once required a long trip can now be done closer to home, giving families more time and energy for other needs.
SK Chairman Danilo Anticamara Jr. said the project has given young people one less hardship to carry.
‘Before the SWIS, they had to walk long distances for drinking water because the streams near their homes were not considered safe for consumption. Now, water is more accessible, while the resource can also support household activities and farming,’ he said.
For resident Iskofela Belhot, the project means something deeper: the community does not have to depend as heavily on distant springs in the forest.
‘If this project were discontinued, we would really have to go back to our previous water source in the forest,’ she said.
The project is part of the watershed management efforts of DENR in an isolated area within the Palandok River Watershed in Zamboanga del Norte. Its continued benefits depend on the health of the forests, streams and water sources that sustain the community.
DENR IX OIC Regional Executive Director Maria Angelique C. Go emphasized that watershed management must ultimately serve the people who depend on its resources.
‘Watershed management is not only about protecting the forest or managing water. It is about ensuring that the watershed’s resources continue to serve the people who depend on them. Projects like this make that connection clear. When we manage water wisely and protect its source, we also strengthen the community’s ability to sustain its livelihood,’ she said.
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The DENR, together with the community and local government, hopes that interventions like SWIS will be sustained, not simply as completed projects, but as resources that continue serving families and farms for years to come.