Villar urges DSWD to improve living condition of Baseco 4Ps beneficiaries

Sen. Cynthia Villar said beneficiaries of government's conditional cash transfer (CCT) program continue to live in unsanitary conditions in Baseco Compound, Manila.

Villar, chair of the Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development, said in her numerous visits to the area, she was appalled to see that Baseco residents continue to live in unsanitary conditions. She also noted that almost 4,500 households are beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

"Open defecation and the lack of toilets continue to be a problem in the area. Garbage-hauling trucks cannot enter because there were no roads," Villar said.

"My understanding is that among 4Ps' objectives are to reduce child mortality and to improve maternal health, these are things that cannot be achieved when sanitation problems persist," she added.

Villar called on Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Sec. Judy Taguiwalo to check the living condition of CCT beneficiaries in Baseco and study how the program could stop open defecation, correct improper hygiene and to provide residents with clean and safe sanitation facilities such as toilets.

The Nacionalista Party senator cited the findings of the United Nations Children's Fund stating that globally, 1,800 deaths of children daily are linked to lack of water, sanitation and hygiene.

The Department of Health (DOH) said poor sanitation often leads to contamination of water sources, contributing to incidences of deadly water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and typhoid fever and other illnesses like intestinal worm infection and malnutrition.

At the Senate, Villar authored Senate Bill No. 719 which seeks to strengthen the sustainable sanitation program by reorganizing the Sanitation Unit of DOH. Villar argues that "sustainable sanitation does not end with the availability of a toilet facility inside the house, it extends to complete community-wide sanitation systems designed to properly treat and dispose wastes."

Villar has adopted an area in Bgy. 649, Gasangan, Baseco Compound, where she has been planting mangrove trees with Cavitex CARE and conducting clean-up activities on a monthly basis.

"These clean-up activities are in keeping with the 2008 Supreme Court mandamus mandating 13 government agencies to help in cleaning up Manila Bay and its river tributaries," Villar said.

Recently, through Villar SIPAG (Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance), she partnered with Macondray Plastics and SM Foundation to give a 12-week training course on urban gardening for residents. With the help of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Villar is also building aquaculture facilities in the area.

The lady senator has also taken the initiative to pave the street and to build a communal toilet for the use of residents. She hopes to build more, through the help of the DOH and DSWD. She was also able to secure a commitment from authorities to regularly collect the garbage so that it will not end up in Manila Bay. In the future, she hopes to make this part of Baseco a thriving site for urban agriculture and aquaculture to help residents increase their income.