DAVAO City health officials are urging residents to conserve water and protect local sources from contamination as El Niño is expected to intensify.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration warned on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, that the El Niño is expected to intensify into a very strong one between September and December and last into the first half of 2027, raising the risk of water supply stress.
In a Palace briefing on the same day, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed agencies to prevent water shortages and severe drought. She said the National Irrigation Administration will deploy mobile solar pumps in drought-prone areas, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is building small water impounding structures and rainwater harvesting systems.
Protecting water sources
Mark Dennis Serrano, registered nurse at the City Health Office’s (CHO) Sanitation Division, said the office is focusing on contamination as well as scarcity.
"Ang among gi-focus is more on the contamination sa tubig, unya kaning scarcity. Siguradoon nato nga maprotektahan 'tong gamay na lang nga water na available… kay kung medyo scarce ang tubig, basig mabiyaan pud ang hygiene ug ang sanitation (Our focus is more on water contamination and on scarcity. We have to make sure the little water still available is protected, because if water gets scarce, hygiene and sanitation might also be neglected),” Serrano said.
He said the city's urban water supply remains secure, but upland areas such as Marilog that depend on natural springs and wells face the risk of drying up and fecal contamination.
He said residents in remote areas must boil water from untreated sources before drinking it, repeating an existing advisory. He warned that unboiled water can cause acute gastrointestinal infections and other waterborne illnesses.
"Dili man gud namo maingon nga drinkable ang tubig if dili siya treated. Reiterate gihapon nato na, 'Ayaw jud mo'g inom, kay dapat mag-boiling sa jud ta’ (We cannot say the water is drinkable if it is not treated. We reiterate: ‘Don't drink it, because we really have to boil it’)," Serrano said.
To keep natural water sources from being polluted during dry spells, the CHO is stepping up its Zero Open Defecation (ZOD) advocacy in far-flung areas.
"Karon pa lang daan, ginaawhag na namo na maggamit og katong ginaingon namo na Zero Open Defecation, sa mga far-flung (Even now, we are encouraging far-flung communities to practice what we call Zero Open Defecation)," Serrano said.
"In case mawad-an na noon ta'g ka-source nato na diha, imo pa gyud gi-contaminate, unsa na lang imong magamit (If your source runs dry and you have also contaminated it, what will you use)?” he added.
The city institutionalized the program through Executive Order No. 32, series of 2024, which created a verification and certification team led by the city health officer to assess barangays under the Philippine Approach to Sustainable Sanitation. Funding comes from the city's annual or supplemental budget, subject to the availability of funds.
Serrano said Davao City has already reached Grade 1 (G1) ZOD certification, meaning communities have access to shared toilets.
Grade 2, which requires one toilet per household, and Grade 3, sustainable sanitation, are harder to reach, especially in coastal settlements.
"Ang barangay na maigo sa coastal, kana siya ang lisod i-achieve na mag-1:1... more on sharing lang jud sa ila (For coastal barangays, a one-to-one ratio is hard to achieve. It's more on sharing for them)," a CHO sanitation staff member said.
Informal coastal dwellings face legal limits on building permanent toilets over water, the staff member added.
Serrano urged residents not to wait for severe shortages before acting.
"Dili lang ta complacent. Dapat pud conserve gihapon ta, protect nato atong water jud. Especially karon, mag-El Niño na (We should not be complacent. We should still conserve and protect our water. Especially now that El Niño is coming),” he said. GRS
