Water politics: The influence of power politics in accessing domestic water at Hamtic and Sibalom, Antique

Abstract

Philippines has a total annual renewable water of 479 billion cubic meters from surface and groundwater sources (ADB. 2013). Despite this seeming abundance, water supply remains scarce and unequally distributed among rural communities. To address this gap, the national government has come up with various funding mechanisms for small domestic water infrastructure projects.

This paper describes the different features of the barangay governmentrun water projects in Hamtic and Sibalom, Antique, funded through Congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from 2003-2013. It examines how formal mechanisms (government funding process) and informal arrangements (clientelism and power politics), influenced the access of barangays to water projects. It also describes how distance from the project site, financial capability, quality of water service, and relationship between households and incumbent politicians influenced people’s water access from the barangay government-run water utility once completed. Interviews among district officer, managers, barangay captains; and survey on 80 and 79 households in the two locales were utilized.

Clientelism and power politics was found to have a general effect on how funds for water was allocated and accessed by the barangay from amongst many in the Congressional district. However, such was not prevalent in individual to barangay level of access.