Representatives from the national executive and legislative agencies, local governments, non-government organizations, and other external support agencies shared their commitments and resources and responsive partnership for an improved access to sustainable sanitation in the Manila Declaration on the Advancement of Sustainable Sanitation and Waste-water Management in the Philippines .
DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Misamis Oriental Rep. Augusto Baculio, and NWRB Executive Director Ramon Alikpala led the signing of the Manila Declaration to accelerate the implementation of the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, marking the highlight of the Philippine Sanitation Summit 2006 held last July 5-6 at the Heritage Hotel, Manila. The Declaration seeks to effect related programs and activities to achieve the Millennium Development Goal, in particular the challenge of Target 10 of Goal 7 on Environmental Sustainability, “to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation.”
In his opening speech, Secretary Duque revealed that diarrhea has long been a major public health problem in the country and remains among the top leading causes of illness among Filipinos. He stressed the urgency of prioritizing hygiene and sanitation programs given that around 5.6 million Filipino households still do not have their own toilet facilities. As a co-convener of the Summit , Secretary Reyes committed to coordinate closely with local government units in improving the wastewater and sewerage management systems in municipalities and cities. The DENR has already launched a drive to clean up the dead and heavily polluted waterways throughout the country, especially the urban areas, including Metro Manila. Reyes further expressed optimism that with the support of LGUs and other international agencies, the national government would be able to expand a greater part of the population the benefits of clean water and efficient sanitation.
During the summit, Rep. Baculio, author of the Clean Water Act noted in his keynote address that only 7% of Filipino households had sewage treatment making the Philippines third among the worst cases on this category in Asia . He urged everybody to stop simply talking about the problem and start doing something about it. In a joint press conference during the 2-day Summit , Executive Director Alikpala explained that meeting the country’s MDGs by 2015 might not be possible unless the government addresses water and sanitation concerns ahead of the deadline. Alikpala believes that poverty and health issues could be dealt with the corresponding improvement in sanitation access and clean water.
On a broader scale, the Summit likewise harvested strong support from local chief executives and international donors. A number of governors and mayors have offered to host similar dialogues and fora in the regions to discuss and prioritize sanitation and wastewater management issues in the development of local policies, programs and plans. With GTZ as a lead organizer, the summit is supported by other international partners - the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development, Australian Agency for International Development, and the World Health Organization, along with local institutions – the Philippine Ecological Sanitation Network, and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.
The Summit was successful in featuring case studies and success stories of local governments who have initiated sanitation and wastewater management programs and projects. The case studies and technical sessions pointed the way to lessons and good practices of what can be done in terms of technology, institutions and policies, financing and advocacy. Workshop and planning sessions among the participants to strategize concrete actions were conducted at the end of the sessions.
Two significant publications on sanitation were launched during the Summit , namely the Sanitation Sourcebook and Decision Aid of WSP, GTZ and AusAID and the Clean Water Book for Local Governments of USAID. The Sanitation Sourcebook presents basic concepts on sanitation to aid project planners, enterprise managers, local executives and community stakeholders assess their situation and make a judgment on appropriate sanitation intervention. In the near future, GTZ plans to orient and train LGUs on using the Sourcebook as well as develop modules for its application.
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