Residents in far-flung barangays of the country are now paying more than 50 percent less for safe drinking water, following interventions led by the Water Resources Management Office (WRMO), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Saturday, March 22. 

Established in 2023 by President Marcos, the WRMO operates under the DENR to streamline national water security initiatives.

DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna attributed the gains to President Marcos’ vision, noting they stemmed from the Chief Executive’s “marching orders” to enhance processes and strengthen monitoring.

“The creation of the WRMO under the President’s mandate has allowed us to move from being mere regulators to being systems-builders,” he said. 

The DENR said the WRMO has provided high-grade refilling equipment to residents served by local water districts.

“With the barangays getting drinking water in-situ, retail price of drinking water was slashed to a fixed P15 per 5-gallon container, nearly half the commercial rate,” the agency said.

According to the DENR, the WRMO’s Water Filtration Program has reduced the cost of potable water in remote island communities in Romblon, Sorsogon, Occidental Mindoro, Bohol, and Zamboanga City from P50–P70 to just P20–P25 per 5-gallon container.

It added that two sites are now operational in Bohol and Bulacan in 2026, with additional projects in Zamboanga City, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, and Eastern Samar nearing completion.

The DENR said that beyond immediate cost savings, it has adopted science-based approaches to secure long-term water supply.

As of May 2025, the agency has completed 66 georesistivity surveys worth P23.1 million at no cost to local governments, helping identify viable groundwater sources prior to drilling, which “reduces uncertainty and minimizes potential risks” for community projects.

It also launched the Infiltration Gallery Project, which taps naturally filtered subsurface river flows to deliver sustainable water supply to 79,420 beneficiaries.

Using the National Natural Resource Geospatial Database, the DENR said it now maps natural assets nationwide to ensure infrastructure development is anchored on reliable data.

Per DENR, WRMO interventions are expected to provide safe water access to 440,904 individuals by the end of 2026, supported by a P256.9-million budget targeting 220,027 additional beneficiaries.

The agency added that plans for 2026 include the rollout of filtration and desalination systems in 59 more barangays, financial support to 13 water districts, and the completion of spring water systems in 11 upland sites with micro-hydropower components.