Watershed rehabilitation
Watershed rehabilitation worker-beneficiaries’ project orientation in Pinabacdao, Samar
The International Labour Organization (ILO), in collaboration with the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Pinabacdao, Samar and with funding from the Government of Norway, rehabilitated thirty-six meters of pipeline in Barangay Lale to restore the flow of water to 4,000 families in the Municipality of Pinabacdao.
A complementary component of the sub-project – necessary to ensure the rehabilitation's long-term viability - was the reforestation of 1,641 watershed hectares in five barangays (Canlobo, Layo, Pilaon, Magdawat, and Manaing). A total of 667,000 tree seedlings were provided by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources - National Greening Program (DENR-NGP) and planted by residents of the said barangays.
This local resource-based (LRB) work provided short-term employment to 515 workers, who received at least minimum wages, social security protection, health and accident insurance, tools, and personal protective equipment (PPE). The water system is now being maintained by staff members of the municipal LGU, but its management will eventually transition to the host community. Meanwhile, the tree planting will have bolstered the tenant-residents’ land stewardship claim under the government's Community-based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA).
On 8 June 2015 at the Pinabacdao Municipal Warehouse, the sub-project’s worker-beneficiaries and team leaders attended a project orientation organized by the ILO. They were likewise oriented on Social Security System (SSS) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) processes and requirements.