Barangay Bunducan, Nasugbu
Access to safe and affordable drinking water took a major step forward in Barangay Bunducan, Nasugbu, Batangas following the donation of a brand new water filtration system by Got Agua, a global water solutions organization focused on sustainable access to clean water.
Access to safe and affordable drinking water took a major step forward in Barangay Bunducan, Nasugbu, Batangas following the donation of a brand new water filtration system by Got Agua, a global water solutions organization focused on sustainable access to clean water.
The newly installed 6,000-gallon-per-day (GPD) reverse osmosis water filtration system is expected to provide purified drinking water to approximately 2,000 residents of Barangay Bunducan, which is home to 644 households or an estimated 797 families. The system will be housed at the barangay hall, making potable water more accessible to the community.
Got Agua’s Director for Southeast Asia, Isabel Puno, worked closely with barangay leadership to design a solution tailored to the community’s needs. The collaboration reflects a shared commitment to addressing long-standing challenges related to water quality, affordability, and public health.
According to Barangay Captain Domingo Samonteza, households in Bunducan consume an average of 10 gallons of drinking water per day. Residents currently purchase drinking water at approximately PHP 6.25 per gallon, which translates to an estimated PHP 1,875 (USD 32) per month per household.
Got Agua raised PHP 390,000 (USD 6,600) to execute the project. The reverse osmosis system is designed to remove contaminants and impurities from well water, producing water that meets drinking standards. By supplying up to 6,000 gallons of purified water daily, the system has the capacity to significantly reduce the community’s dependence on purchased water and improve overall health outcomes.
Got Agua’s mission centers on providing sustainable, community-based clean drinking water solutions. The organization is driven by the belief that the lack of access to clean drinking water is one of the leading causes of disease worldwide. By partnering with local governments and empowering communities, Got Agua aims to create long-term impact rather than temporary relief.
Got Agua hopes that the placement of the water system at the barangay hall will lower—if not entirely remove—barriers to accessible potable water for residents of Barangay Bunducan. As the system becomes fully operational, residents can look forward to a future where clean drinking water is no longer a daily concern, but a basic service readily available to all.
Sewahon Elementary School
Got Agua installed a water piping system for an elementary school in a remote mountain community located about 3 hours outside of Bacolod City.
Got Agua installed a water piping system for an elementary school in a remote mountain community located about 3 hours outside of Bacolod City. The community is mainly comprised of sugar cane field workers. When the elementary school could not provide clean drinking water, the parents of the school children would keep their children out of the school. Instead of going to class, the parents took their children to the sugar cane fields where they could provide their children drinking water. After Got Agua? installed with the water piping system, the children returned to school. Moreover, the parents and their other family members are able to pick up water for their homes from the school when they pick up their children in the afternoon. As a result, this water system is providing water to about 3,000 members of this mountain community.
Taal Eruption
Got Agua? provided water, hot food and hygiene products to families that had to evacuate the areas surrounding the Taal Volcano after the volcano erupted.
Got Agua? provided water, hot food and hygiene products to families that had to evacuate the areas surrounding the Taal Volcano after the volcano erupted. These families had been without hot food and needed supplies for almost two weeks before we were able to reach them.
Typhoon Odette
Got-Agua? sent emergency food and water to Sitio Tuyuman in the wake of Typhoon Odette.
Got-Agua? sent emergency food and water in to Sitio Tuyuman, Brgy. Caradio-an Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, in the wake of Typhoon Odette.
Himamaylan City
In 2021, 6 water pumps were provided in 6 brgy in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, Philippines.
In 2021, 6 water pumps were provided in 6 brgy in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, Philippines.
Each brgy has 15 families with 8 households per family.
Calamba, Laguna
In Sitio Palanan, Barangay Halang, Got Agua? worked with Barangay Captain Eulogio L. Precilla and members of his staff to install a piping system connecting two wells that were otherwise cut off to the community during the rainy season.
In Sitio Palanan, Barangay Halang, Got Agua? worked with Barangay Captain Eulogio L. Precilla and members of his staff to install a piping system connecting two wells that were otherwise cut off to the community during the rainy season. The innovative solution permits the wells to irrigate the local rice fields and provide clean drinking water to the residents on a year round basis. Also in Barangay Halang, the Got Agua? team drilled a new well to replace wells that have become contaminated. The piping system and new well in Barangay Halang now serves more than 1,500 local residents.
Muntindilaw, Antipolo
Working with Cong. Roberto Puno (Antipolo) and Muntindilaw Antipolo Barangay Captain Merlita Molina, Got Agua? rehabilitated five drinking water wells that serve more than 1,500 residents of Muntindilaw. Many of the rehabilitated wells had been inoperable for more than a year.
Working with Cong. Roberto Puno (Antipolo) and Muntindilaw Antipolo Barangay Captain Merlita Molina, Got Agua? rehabilitated five drinking water wells that serve more than 1,500 residents of Muntindilaw. Many of the rehabilitated wells had been inoperable for more than a year.
Super Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda Relief
Super Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, devastated large areas of the central Philippines, in early November 2013. It is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, killing at least 6,100 people and injuring almost 30,000 people. Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall, and unofficially the strongest typhoon ever recorded in terms of wind speed.
Super Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, devastated large areas of the central Philippines, in early November 2013. It is the deadliest Philippine typhoon on record, killing at least 6,100 people and injuring almost 30,000 people. Haiyan is also the strongest storm recorded at landfall, and unofficially the strongest typhoon ever recorded in terms of wind speed.
Before the Super Typhoon made landfall in the Philippines, Got Agua? volunteers located in the Philippines and the United States swung into action. Soon after the typhoon hit, Got Agua? mobilized a team to travel by sea to Guiuan, the first town struck by the typhoon, to deliver much needed water and medical supplies to its residents. As a result of the pre-planning and strong team work, the Got Agua? team were the very first to reach Guiuan and provide aid to its residents.
In Metro Manila, the Got Agua? team is providing aid to a number of the families who have been evacuated from the central Philippines.
Got Agua? Travels to Tabon, the Philippines’ Cradle of Civilization
Nationwide, one out of ten Filipinos – almost 10 million people - lack access to basic water. In some regions of the country, almost forty-percent of Filipinos lack such access. These numbers were released in July by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF in the report, titled “Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and Sustainable Development Goal Baselines.”
Nationwide, one out of ten Filipinos – almost 10 million people - lack access to basic water. In some regions of the country, almost forty-percent of Filipinos lack such access. These numbers were released in July by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF in the report, titled “Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and Sustainable Development Goal Baselines.”
Got Agua? president Rocco Puno called the report a sobering reminder of the work that needs to be done. “Access to clean drinking water should not be a luxury or restricted by the accident of birth. Rather, access to clean drinking water should be a birthright for every Filipino in every barangay across the country. The WHO and UNICEF report underscores the work that needs to be done to make that birthright a reality for every Filipino,” said Puno.
In response to Puno’s call to action, Got Agua? volunteers from the Philippines and the United States led by Got Agua?’s vice-president Madeline Myronowicz traveled to the Philippines’ Cradle of Civilization, Tabon, Quezon, Palawan to rehabilitate and drill new water wells. Barangay Captain Herasmo Abelong, members of the barangay council, and local schoolchildren warmly welcomed Got Agua? with a full program that featured two dances by the schoolchildren. The schoolchildren obviously practiced their routines for weeks. The Got Agua? team were also treated to homemade, organic banana bread, buko pie, and locally-grown tamarind tea.
During their stay, the Got Agua? team arranged to repair a well that provides water to more than a hundred students at the local middle school, rehabilitated four additional wells, and drilled a new well. These wells will provide clean drinking water to 1,000 residents. With the additional of these much needed wells, Got Agua? has completed water projects for more than 19,000 people.
“Palawan is a breathtakingly beautiful place. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit and enthusiasm of the people and are grateful to have been invited into and embraced by the community. We want to especially thank social worker Lilybeth T. Balisco with the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, Quezon, Palawan for introducing us to this wonderful group of people and idyllic place, and of course, Barangay Captain Abelong for all of his help. I am looking forward to returning to the Philippines next year for more water projects,” said Myronowicz.
Rocco Puno added, “our water projects demonstrate that people can come together for the greater good, work to save the lives of our most vulnerable, and tackle the root causes of poverty in the Philippines and abroad.”
Altavas, Aklan
Got Agua?, an international water charity, recently broke ground on its first project in the province of Aklan. Although this is not the first of its kind in the Philippines, this is the pioneering project partnership between Got Agua? and Habitat for Humanity, a relationship spearheaded by Got Agua? President Rocco Puno. “The two international organizations share a common mission in uplifting the lives of Filipinos – there are plenty of synergies in working together, and we hope this is the first of many projects”, he said.
Got Agua?, an international water charity, recently broke ground on its first project in the province of Aklan. Although this is not the first of its kind in the Philippines, this is the pioneering project partnership between Got Agua? and Habitat for Humanity, a relationship spearheaded by Got Agua? President Rocco Puno. “The two international organizations share a common mission in uplifting the lives of Filipinos – there are plenty of synergies in working together, and we hope this is the first of many projects”, he said.
The project is located in Brgy. Man-up in Altavas, Aklan, and primarily benefit an Aeta community that was displaced during Typhoon Haiyan. Habitat for Humanity will deliver the homes they had lost, while Got Agua? will donate funds for the installation of jetmatic hand pumps, providing the community with clean, potable water. In order to put this together, representatives of both organizations worked with Fr. Geoffrey Jimenez of Holy Child Parish, who will oversee all activities involving construction and installation.
This collaborative model is a hallmark of the Got Agua? strategy: partner with local communities to provide local solutions for the neighborhood’s water needs. This strategy stems from the core principles of the organization, which believes that access to clean, potable water is a right for all human beings.
While Got Agua?’s mission is not complete until all have access to safe drinking water, it has made strides toward its goal, completing 32 projects for 18,000 people in India, Africa, and the Philippines.
Despite its global focus, the organization will continue to prioritize the Philippines for its new projects, according to Got Agua? President Rocco Puno: “My involvement in this organization has always been for the betterment of my countrymen, and with our new partnership with Habitat for Humanity, we believe we’re on our way to changing thousands of lives”.
Buenavista, Guimaras
Got Agua? Trustees Lauren Hickey, Raya Isabel Puno, Rocio Puno, Samantha Abello, Madeleine Myronowicz, Matthew Myronowicz and a team of Got Agua? volunteers from the United States and the Philippines traveled to three barangays in Buenavista, Guimaras.
Got Agua? Trustees Lauren Hickey, Raya Isabel Puno, Rocio Puno, Samantha Abello, Madeleine Myronowicz, Matthew Myronowicz and a team of Got Agua? volunteers from the United States and the Philippines traveled to three barangays in Buenavista, Guimaras. Working with Brgy. Captains Babeth F. Diana, Hernan V. Manero and Victor S. Perez, the team repaired four water wells and installed two water piping systems. These four wells and piping systems will serve residents located in Brgy. Navalas, Brgy. San Miguel and Brgy. Getulio.
NHA Housing Project – Calauan, Laguna
Got Agua? Trustees Lauren Hickey, Sana Karimi, Rocio Puno and Madeleine Myronowicz and a team of Got Agua? volunteers from the United States and the Philippines traveled to the NHA Housing Project located in Calauan, Laguna.
Got Agua? Trustees Lauren Hickey, Sana Karimi, Rocio Puno and Madeleine Myronowicz and a team of Got Agua? volunteers from the United States and the Philippines traveled to the NHA Housing Project located in Calauan, Laguna. Working with representatives from the ABS-CBN Foundation, the team repaired three water wells that had been damaged by Typhoon Glenda on July 22, 2014, and drilled a brand new water well. Together these four wells serve 5,000 residents located in Brgy. Sto. Tomas and Brgy. Dayap. The residents of these two barangays were relocated from the esters of the Pasig River through the generosity of the ABS-CBN Foundation, the Lopez Group, the Ayala Group, Sunlife, and San Miguel Corporation and the stewardship of the National Housing Association.
