Fabon, A. F. (2016). Building collective responsibilities and applying accountability in disaster preparedness for safe drinking water (Unpublished master's thesis). Public Management Development Program, Development Academy of the Philippines.

Public Management Development Program Middle Managers' Class Thesis (MMC)--Development Academy of the Philippines.

When disaster strikes, water infrastructures and water sources might be damaged which could lead to water crisis that could last for an extended period of time. It is during the critical period that the water supply should be provided by the first responders at the local level until such time that the water supply is returned back to normal or until relief aid organizations provide the necessary water supply. There is a water crisis in Mogpog, Marinduque and such crisis is more apparent especially during and after a disaster. In recent years, more and more companies are exerting efforts to solve global water crisis by using innovative devices that could treat unsafe water and turn it into safe drinking water. However, providing the latest technology to solve water issues that would benefit the public has to comply with the Philippines National Standards for Drinking Water to safeguard public health and safety. A Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) workshop was conducted to identify the priority barangays that would be the project beneficiaries. Results of the VCA revealed that seventeen barangays are highly susceptible to flooding. As such, those barangays have greater risks of injury or death, physical losses and damages, and interruption of basic services. To reduce the vulnerabilities and increase the capacities of the communities, it is necessary that collective responsibilities be built by creating the Barangay/Municipal WaSH Task Force and to craft policies that would further improve the preparedness of the community specifically in drinking water. In order to plan, design, install, and efficiently manage the appropriate WaSH systems at the barangay and municipal level, the seventeen barangays organized their respective Barangay WaSH Task Force. The Municipal WaSH Task Force was organized as well. The WaSH Task Force shall manage WaSH services during emergencies and should monitor and maintain the water purifiers. To supplement the enabling policy on Governance Approach to WaSH, 138 arrow signs leading to barangay evacuation centers were installed across the seventeen barangays. A post disaster evacuation and casualty transfer drill was conducted at Bocboc, Marinduque to simulate how a post disaster evacuation is being conducted. During the activity evaluation, the rescue volunteers concluded that only a pre-emptive evacuation could ensure safety of all the vulnerable population in Barangay Bocboc. After complying with all the necessary requirements to ensure efficient implementation of safe drinking water service at the evacuation centers, twenty LifeStraw purifiers were distributed to seventeen barangays, the DRRM Office, and the Rural Health Unit. Each water purifier has a QR code for monitoring purposes. All Punong Barangays favorably signed the memorandum of understanding and commitment for the institutionalization and sustainability of the project at the barangay level. The post project implementation survey results reveal that the presence of water treatment facilities that can be used during and after a disaster helps the community's disaster preparedness. However, there should be a strong enabling mechanism that would maintain and ensure that safe drinking water is readily accessible. It is only when institutional mechanisms are functional that the water crisis during normal operation or even during and after a disaster is appropriately solved. Solving a water crisis during emergency or disaster should be understood from the preparedness lens and not just from the perspective of response.