MANILA — Some 40 million Filipinos do not have access to clean and potable water supply, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said on Tuesday as the agency announced the government’s plan to procure several modular desalination machines to address the issue.

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Of the over 7,600 islands in the country, 5,500 are small islands that have no access to fresh water, said DENR Undersecretary Carlos Primo David.

“‘Yung 40 million include those in the island barangays and those in the upland barangays,” he said in a press conference in Malacañang.

“While we have big projects in line for big cities… we have to focus on the 40 million unserved population,” he said.

The government is now looking at procuring modular desalination plants for some 60 villages, the Environment secretary said.

Each unit costs between P5 million and P8 million, and can serve up to around 500 families.

“The main component of a desalination system is a membrane filter… Medyo mahal yung technology dahil sa membranes, very power intensive din siya,” he said.

“The technology has evolved so much na modular na ito so maliliit na lang sila ang they can be powered by solar panels,” he said.

Twenty island barangays are already utilizing the modular desalination machines, while a large-scale desalination plant is set to open in Cebu soon, David said.

“Four companies that have technical capabilities to implement these kinds of projects. So in 4 weeks time puwede na tayo mag-install basta may pondo,” he said.

The Philippine government is looking at suppliers from Israel, Netherlands and Singapore, David said, noting that the government is planning to tap national funds and soft loans to procure the machines.

“Nabanggit ko din kung puwede tayo mag-issue ng government bonds for water projects,” he said, but clarified that a specific project cost has yet to be determined.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not give a deadline on the distribution of the desalination equipment but said that it should be done “right away,” David said.

“Ang directive ng President is to start studying, ask the help of our development partners,” he said.

“Sabi niya it’s unacceptable na may 40 million Filipinos that do not have access to fresh water.”

Meantime, facilities need to be constructed in upland villages to bring spring water to communities, David said. 

“I think we have to integrate our flood control programs so that the water that we manage in our flood control do not go to the sea and we can utilize it for other purposes like irrigation, power supply,” said Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan.

“Water impounding dams will be integrated with the flood contorl programs that the department will be undertaking,” he said, noting that the agency has a budget of P300 billion for flood control projects.

The DPWH is also set to construct a major flood control project in Pampanga, Bonoan said.

The project will create a floodway from San Antonio swamp in Nueva Ecija to “address problems of flooding in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.”