Only 67 percent of Filipino families have access to safe drinking water at home, while the rest lack running and piped water, according to a new survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS).
According to SWS, the percentage equates to around 17 million Filipino households – of about 26.39 million total households as of the 2020 census — with access to running or piped water.
The survey also revealed that 58 percent of Filipino families said their water consumption was billed, while nine percent said it was not.
Filipino families living in Metro Manila are billed P500 per month, but the SWS survey showed that P320 was the median expense per month for the 58 percent of billed consumers.
The normal or median pay is P312 in Balance Luzon, P340 in Visayas and P300 in Mindanao.
On the other hand, the SWS said the monthly expense for the 9 percent non-billed consumers averaged at P300 — P400 per month in Metro Manila, P300 in Balance Luzon, P300 in Visayas, and P225 in Mindanao.
According to the SWS, the survey was conducted from December 10 to 14, 2022 through in-person interviews, with a total of 1,200 adult respondents.
SWS said the survey had a sampling margin of error at plus-minus 2.8 percent.
Source: Manila Standard and SWS