More than half of Filipino families (53.1 percent) had access to a safely managed drinking water service from an improved source in 2024, according to the latest Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS).
A “safely managed drinking water service” is defined as water piped into a family’s dwelling or yard from a community water system, provided the supply is consistently sufficient and the family pays a monthly bill to a water utility company.
About 44.4 percent of families had access to a basic drinking water service from an improved source, where the round-trip collection time was 30 minutes or less. This pushed the total percentage of families with access to at least a basic drinking water service to 97.5 percent in 2024, up from 96.3 percent in 2022.
Meanwhile, access to a “limited drinking water service” among families declined to 0.9 percent from 1.3 percent over the same period.
The World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene defines improved drinking water sources as those with the potential to deliver safe water. These include piped water, boreholes or tube wells, protected dug wells, protected springs, rainwater, and delivered or packaged water, such as bottled water and water refilling stations. The JMP uses service ladders to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 2024 APIS, which first included questions on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in 2017, supports the monitoring of SDGs, specifically Goal 6.1 (access to safe drinking water) and Goal 6.2 (adequate sanitation and hygiene).
Nearly all families (98.4 percent) had access to an improved source of drinking water. Among these, over half (57.9 percent) obtained their drinking water from water refilling stations. Piped water directly into dwelling units was the second most common improved source, used by 17.2 percent of families.
The majority of families (91.5 percent) reported that their drinking water supply was always sufficient. However, about 6.5 percent experienced at least one instance of insufficient drinking water due to unavailability at the source. Notably, 85.3 percent of families did not apply any method to treat their water before drinking it.
The National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the highest percentage of families with access to a safely managed drinking water service at 85.5 percent, followed by Region IV-A (73.1 percent) and Region III (67.0 percent). In contrast, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) had the lowest access at 14.8 percent, followed by Region V (25.8 percent) and Region II (27.6 percent).
Access to a basic sanitation service significantly rose to 84.7 percent of families in 2024 from 84.0 percent in 2022. Meanwhile, access to a limited sanitation service declined to 10.1 percent in 2024 from 10.8 percent in 2022. The percentage of families using an unimproved sanitation facility (2.7 percent) or practicing open defecation (2.6 percent) due to lack of facilities remained unchanged from 2022.
