PDRF, PCPPI to provide 20,000-liter Water tanks for Marawi rehabilitation

Marawi is on its way to recovery. As the efforts continue to revive Lanao Del Sur’s capital after being ravaged by war, private institutions and government organizations are partnering to address the need for water of Maranaos and others in the area.

(L-R) Holding the scale model of the 20,000-liter water tank to be deployed in Marawi is Lanao Del Sur Provincial Information Officer, Salma Jayne Alonto Tamano; Task Force Bangon Marawi Undersecretary, and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Secretary General, Falconi Ace Millar; Pepsi-Co Products Philippines Inc. President Samudra Bhattacharya, and Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation President Butch Meily

As the country's major private sector driver and coordinator for disaster resilience, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) linked with Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) to provide the internally displaced people of Marawi with clean and safe water. PDRF tapped PCPPI to provide 12 cylindrical, 20,000-liter water tanks to various gravely affected barangays across the province. PCPPI will also partner with PDRF to conduct community training on water management and hygiene, as well as initiate various programs for the holistic, socio-psychological recovery of the Maranaos.

In full support of this partnership is Atty. Falconi Millar, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Secretary General, who was present during the signing ceremony.

Millar also serves as Undersecretary of Task Force Bangon Marawi—the inter-agency task force group of the government dedicated to the recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of Marawi and other affected localities.

The Undersecretary underlined that PDRF was one of the first to send recovery teams to Marawi, and that with their partnership with PCPPI he sees an evolution of responsible corporate citizenship in the private sector.

The collaboration between PDRF, PCPPI, Task Force Bangon Marawi and the Lanao del Sur government helps mobilize the next phase of rehabilitation efforts in the war-stricken area, beginning with the need for water.

The PDRF implements an eight-cluster system model for private sector coordination aimed to provide a more robust platform for collaboration and interoperability with key partners in disaster preparation, response, and rehabilitation. PCPPI’s efforts fall under the Water and Sanitation cluster.

Also at the event was Lanao Del Sur’s Provincial Information Officer, Salma Jayne Alonto-Tamano. Millar reiterated the government's relentless pursuit of rebuilding Marawi, returning it to its vibrancy.

PDRF first worked with the bottling company last year for the donation and installation of 1,000 gasera lights and 500 solar street lamps in Marawi.