75-year-old woman in Cebu climbs up mountain to collect 3 gallons of water

A 75-year-old woman in Cebu has been climbing up a mountain to collect three gallons of water for her daily needs.

According to “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” on Sunday, Matilde risks her life taking several trips to the well to draw gallons of water in Sitio Calibasan, Brgy. Captain Claudio, Toledo City.

Matilde, who treks with her dogs Kabang and Diana, would go barefoot so she would not slip.

“Palagi akong nadudulas diyan sa daanan. Humahawak talaga ako nang mahigpit dahil nadadala ako ng aking karga na gallon. Gumulong talaga ako diyan. Napagulong ako,” she said.

[I always slip in that path. I hold on tight because I get weighed down by the gallons I carry. I tumbled down that area once.]

Aside from having a hard time trekking with gallons of water, she said she would also get dizzy from the heat and dehydration.

“Nakakapagod. Kailangan kumilos. Tiisin lang,” she said.

[It’s tiring. I have to keep moving. I have to bear it.]

According to the senior citizen, she gets water for washing dishes and laundry from what the locals call Tabayng Dako, while her drinking water comes from Tabayng Gamay. It takes five minutes to fill up one plastic container.

Sometimes, Matilde would have to hike to a higher part of the mountain.

The downhill journey is also a struggle because she had to carry over 12 liters.

“Mahirap kasi kung marami kang ginagamitan, mabilis maubos. Pangkain sa baboy, iinumin, isasaing, doon din sa aso pinapanghugas. Tinitipid ang tubig. Hindi binubuhos. Imbes itatapon, ihuhugas pa,” said Matilde.

[Not having access to water is really difficult. It’s for feeding pigs, drinking, cooking rice, washing the dogs. I save it up as much as possible. I don’t pour it. Instead of throwing away (used water), I use it to wash other things.]

As far as they could remember, Matilde and all the other Sitio Calibasan residents have not had decent water supply, which make them rely heavily on the rain.

Matilde shared that they could hire someone to get water. But that would cost P35 per gallon.

For Matilde who lived alone, the P35 fee was costly.

When KMJS learned about their situation, the team approached the city government.

In response, the Department of Public Works and Highways 3rd District said it would inspect the site.

The KMJS team, meanwhile, brought Matilde to a doctor for a checkup, and gave her food packs and vitamins.

Although she had water supply for now, she would have to go back to climbing the mountain every day until permanent solutions are implemented. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News