Sta Rosa CityPreliminary Findings from HH Surveys, FGD

and KI and Document Examination

Agricultural Zones

Industrial Zones

Residential Zones

Commercial Zones

The Features of the CitySta. Rosa City, with a 2010 population of 284,670 is a rapidly

transforming peri-urban area 30 kilometers south of Mega-Manila.

Its physical and social landscape is characterized by expanding industrial complexes and the emergence of gated communities and their associated high-end malls replacing what used to be agricultural lands.

Commercial districts are rapidly growingMajor Manila-based academic institutions are now

establishing extension campuses in the area to get away from the extremely dense Metropolis.

At the same time, traditional rurban districts are themselves facing transformation, as first-generation settlements are becoming more urbanized.

The city is also now home to a large resettlement community of urban poor migrants from Mega Manila.

The Study SitesBarangay

Pop’n HH No. of HH in Sample

No. of KII

No. of FGD

Description

Aplaya 14,172

3,149 30 6 3 Coastal Barangay

Caingin 18,608

4,135 40 6 3 Coastal Barangay, but with an interior population of migrants from the city

Pooc 33,544

7,454 30 6 3 Interior Barangay but close to coast

Pulong Sta. Cruz

19,277

4,284 30 6 3 Interior Barangay and far from coast

Sinalhan 19,082

4,240 30 6 3 Coastal Barangay

Total 104,683

23,262

160 30 15

Total for City

284,670

63,260

160 30 15

% of Total for City

36.8 36.8 100.0 100.0

100.0

Details of Focus Group DiscussionsBarangay Date Group

1Wome

n

Group 2

Men

Group 3 Mixed

Women Men Total

Sinalhan May 24, 3013

5 5 2 3 5

Aplaya May 24-25, 2013

5 5 2 3 5

Caingin May 30, 2013

5 5 2 3 5

Pooc May 31, 2013

5 5 2 4 6

Pulong Sta. Cruz May 30, 2013

3 6 3 2 5

Sources of WaterMost drinking water are bottled and

commercially boughtOther sources are from communal or private

wellsSmall number from pipes either from

community-managed tanks, or from water service provider

Social Capital

Source of support in times of crisis is kinship, and not formal state institutions

Women are seen as the one having more responsibility to link with support systems

Women are also more active in community-based organizations than men

Experience of Water StressesBarangay Flood Water Shortage Water

Contamination

M F T M F T M F T

Aplaya 12 15 27 1 0 1 3 5 8

Caingin 18 19 37 4 5 9 13 9 22

Pooc 9 8 17 12 12 24 7 4 11

Pulong Sta Cruz

3 1 4 10 11 21 4 6 10

Sinalhan 15 13 28 2 1 3 8 6 14

 Total 

 57

 56 113

 29

 29 58

 35

 30 65

The problematic water institutionsA pluralism of formal and informal water-distribution

institutions relying solely on deep-well drillings.The private local water service provider supplies

mainly the middle and lower classes.On the other hand, the gated communities, high-end

malls and industrial complexes have their own independent deep wells and distribution systems.

While the local government of the city is able to monitor the extraction behavior of the private local water service provider, the massive extraction of water by the independent users having their own deep wells are unfortunately not monitored.

The crisis scenarioElements of a crisis

Inequality in exposure to regulationProjected rapid depletion of the water reserves,Geo-political reality that the recharge zones for the aquifers are

outside the boundaries of the city Issue of social justice and equity for exposure to burdens, benefits

and risks/hazardsThe sectors depending on the “privileged” water institutions relying

on owned or independent deep wells are also those that are relatively, at least in the short run, immune from climate change-induced water stresses, such as floods, shortages and contamination

While the relatively poorer informal settlers, some of whom are beyond the reach even of the regulated water service providers, are the ones who have to contend with episodes of severe floods and water shortages, and the risk of water-borne illnesses.

This has potential class and gender-differentiated implications as well.

The ChallengesThe unregulated extraction of water by these “privileged”

water institutions has been identified by a WWF study to be the major driver for the projected water shortage in the near future, some of which are now being felt by poorer communities living in the periphery of industrial and commercial complexes.

The institutional and political responses required to handle this scenario is a challenge considering that the “culprits” are also considered as the ones that currently contribute a lot to the political economy, even as there is also a recognition by the city administrators that water is an important development resource

How do you deal with a situation where there is a “transboundary” dimension

LimitationsInstead of limiting the study area to just one

site, we expanded it to six barangays—resource limitations (time, budget), transaction costs

OpportunitiesWe have a very cooperative LGU partnerThe diversity of the sites can only but

increase the reliability and validity of findings from qualitative data gathering

Things that need to be addressedThe status of our embedded researcher