Environment

As families return from Undas trips and cemetery visits, Manila Water is calling on customers to prioritize household sanitation and take advantage of its scheduled desludging services this November. Regular maintenance keeps septic tanks from overflowing, causing bad smells, or polluting surroundings and waterways. The company recommends desludging every five years to protect family and community health.

Coastal communities in Balanga City once faced constant worry: regular flooding during high tide worsened by storms, and shrinking fish catches as mangrove forests were cut down and damaged.

A community‑led nature‑based restoration project is helping protect over 1,000 Ata‑Manobo residents in Sitio Patil, Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong from worsening riverbank erosion and climate‑driven hazards. Ten major flood and landslide events hit the area between 2020 and 2023, as strong currents at the Kapalong‑Maguimon river confluence wore away soil and threatened homes, farms and ancestral lands.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has launched a country‑wide ecosystem restoration program designed to soften the blow of prolonged dry heat expected under a super El Niño event forecast to last from late this year through the first half of 2027.

Manila Water Philippine Ventures (MWPV) is rolling out proactive water security upgrades across Pangasinan and Isabela, two North Luzon provinces flagged by PAGASA as highly vulnerable to dry spells through late 2026, with drought risks extending into the first quarter of 2027.