Higatangan Potable water, a dream come true for this beautiful tourism haven

HIGATANGAN ISLAND, Naval, Biliran - For several decades in the life of the residents of Higatangan Island,  safe potable water is a precious good that can be accessed  across the sea from the main island of Biliran or the nearby Leyte Island. For them, its just a dream of having to fetch the water from their own community.

Such a dream became a reality when the Department of Science and Technology Regional Office VIII, LGU-Naval, the Biliran Province State University, the Barangay Libertad, and the Department of Education launched the Water Purification Project and Inaugurated the completed facility on March 4, 2021 at Fidel M. Limpiado Sr. National High School. The facility can provide a maximum of 500 gallons a day based on equipment capacity.

"This is a great help to our community, who for a long time is fetching our drinking water from Naval town which is about an hour boat ride from the island." This is the common words echoed by the grateful residents. The island constitutes a total of 507 households or a total of 580 families (based on 2017 data) for the two component barangays of Mabini and Libertad who will benefit the services of the project. The potable water will be sold to residents and tourists at a much lower price compared to the ones obtained from the mainland Biliran due to reduced transport cost. Proceeds of the sales will be used for maintenance and the operating cost of the facility.

It all started when LGU-Naval, headed by the young and dynamic Mayor Gerard Roger Espina of Naval, heeded the call of DOST 8 through the Biliran Provincial Science and Technology Center  to implement the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology Program in this beautiful Island endowed with majestic tourist attractions - the shifting sand bar, the pearly beaches, the serene waters, and nature carved rock formations. 

DOST-8 conducted Community Life Competence Process (CLCP) in 2017 to assess the residents’ priority dream for the island. The process was participated by various sectors coming from the two barangays including men (36%) and women (64%).  Among the priorities identified cut across the need of the men and women’s sector and the communities common good, such as: access to potable water, waste management, and livelihood

DOST-8 through its Grant-in-Aid program funded a CEST project for the establishment of a Water Purification Facility to address basic need which is water. DOST-8 partnered with  Barangay Local Government of Libertad headed by Hon. Rosalie Arevalo who received and managed the fund from DOST-8. BIPSU, the lone higher educational institution in the Province headed by its University President Dr. Victor C. Cañezo, Jr., joined the alliance in the  project implementation  by providing technical assistance in assessing the water source and evaluating its potential for production of potable water via purification process. FMLNHS accepted the challenge of hosting the project with its Parents Teachers Association and the community as the direct beneficiaries. 

The future of the island lies on how the residents manage its own resources and maintain the soundness of its environment. Much more needs to be done here but the DOST-8 led endeavor became a big leap for further development of this tourism haven.