Alegria declares state of calamity
CEBU CITY — Nearly half of Alegria town’s residents in Cebu province have been struggling with no reliable running water after years of infrastructure setbacks, prompting the municipal government to declare a state of calamity to fast-track emergency funding and repairs.
Mayor Gilberto Magallon said the declaration, approved on June 29, will allow the local government to immediately address the worsening water crisis affecting nearly 44 percent of the town’s 26,520 residents, particularly those living in Barangay Madridejos, Valencia and Compostela.
“Our big challenge now in our municipality is about the water. We already declared a state of calamity because of our water problem. I hope Governor Pam [Baricuatro] and the provincial government can also help us. This is one of our urgent requests from the governor,” Magallon said.
The mayor said the state of calamity enables the municipality to speed up budget processing and the release of emergency funds needed to repair the damaged water distribution system.
Local officials said the shortage is not caused by a lack of water sources but by extensive damage to the municipality’s transmission and distribution network, leaving an estimated 11,600 residents with limited or no direct access to tap water.
Magallon traced the problem to a P95-million water system developed under the Philippine Rural Development Project, which began around 2015 and 2016. He said portions of the project remained unfinished before the municipal government accepted its turnover.
The situation worsened after Typhoon Odette struck Cebu in 2021, damaging water infrastructure and breaking transmission lines as flooding swept through creeks that serve as Alegria’s primary water source.
Municipal officials also said later road concreting projects unintentionally damaged underground pipelines because many had already been installed beneath or beside roads before the infrastructure works were carried out.
Although Alegria has several natural water sources, officials said restoring the damaged pipeline network remains the biggest obstacle to providing stable water service to affected communities.
As a temporary measure, the municipal government secured a verbal agreement with neighboring Badian to allow Alegria to draw water from its supply network for residents in the Barangay Balhaan area while rehabilitation continues.
“If there is no water, in three days you will die... in three days without water, ang mga tawo mag-wild na gyud. So, mao na nga mura’g makahandog kaayo, daghan kaayong nag-complain karon, so, we have to make a move (People will become restless. That is why this is alarming, many are complaining now, so we really have to act),” Magallon said.
Alegria is a municipality in southern Cebu, situated about 113 kilometers from Cebu City. It falls under the province’s seventh district and is composed of nine barangay (villages).