Building Clean Water, One Community at a Time: The WASH Project in Benguet First Quarter 2026 | Mankayan and Tublay, Benguet
In the mountain communities of Benguet, access to clean water is not a given. For years, the Order of Malta Philippines has been working to change that, one barangay, one school, one water system at a time.
The WASH Project 2023 to 2026, funded by Malteser International and the Jesus V. del Rosario Foundation, Inc., is one of the most ambitious long-term development programs the Association has undertaken. Its goal is to strengthen community resilience through water access, sanitation, hygiene education, waste management, and disaster risk reduction in some of the most vulnerable communities in the Cordillera region.
During the first quarter of 2026, work advanced on multiple fronts.
In Tublay Central, meetings with beneficiaries, site preparations, and material deliveries were completed between January and March. Cables and pipes are now being laid, with the project at 50% completion and expected to finish by mid-April. In Bangao, Buguias, the community began installing pipes and fencing around the water source in February, reaching 95% completion by quarter’s end. In Baculongan Norte, pipe-laying is complete, with water meter installation and tank pad construction still ongoing at 75%. In Ambongdolan, Tublay, a preparatory community meeting was held in January, materials began arriving in March, and construction is now underway, the earliest stage, but the work has started.
A project audit was also conducted from January 28 to 30, 2026, by Mr. Kent Casaljay from P and A Grant Thornton, covering facilities across Mankayan and Buguias, from household latrines to school WASH facilities and water system tanks.
Beyond infrastructure, the quarter also saw the completion of hygiene promotion activities and the WASH Training of Trainers program across 36 schools in Mankayan and Tublay, reaching 5,236 learners. Test scores among students improved significantly after the sessions. At Mamuyod Elementary School, scores rose from 16% to 58%. At Sto. Niño Elementary School, from 17% to 73%. At Pontino Elementary School, from 23% to 77%. The program has met its enrollment target.
Additional facilities approved by the JVR Foundation are also under construction: tanks, handwashing stations, and a Material Recovery Facility for schools in both municipalities.
A joint monitoring visit in March, involving the OMP Manila and Benguet staff, JVR Foundation, and K-Servico, confirmed that previously installed facilities, including rainwater harvesting tanks, handwashing stations, and latrines, are being properly used and maintained. Teachers are actively supervising students and demonstrating correct use of bucket filters.
Forty-nine bucket filters have now been distributed across the region, improving access to safe drinking water for schools and Child Development Centers that previously had none.
The WASH Project is not a single intervention. It is a shift in how communities relate to water, sanitation, and their own resilience, and the first quarter of 2026 moved that shift further forward.
