MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 has awarded a Philippine foundation in one of the categories for the UN “Water for Life” Best Practices Award in a ceremony held Tuesday in Zaragoza, Spain.

The Villar Foundation’s Sagip Ilog program was chosen as having the “Best Water Management Practices” besting 38 other countries.

The award is given to organizations which substantially contributed to the improvement of the living environment on a sustainable basis, especially to the living conditions of the poorest and most disadvantaged groups; institutional frameworks and the sustainable management of water.

The foundation’s founding chairman Sen. Manny Villar and wife, former Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar, expressed gratitude for receiving the award. “This award is a testament to the foundation’s commitment not just to protect the environment, especially rivers and waterways but at the same time, provide livelihood to hundreds of poor Filipinos,” Senator Villar said.

The former congresswoman championed the program’s aim of addressing various environmental problems of the community in Las Piñas. “Sagip Ilog is more than just a river rehabilitation program. It is an integrated system accompanied with several livelihood projects. Through the years of involvement in community-building and the propagation of environmental projects, one major learning is that for the programs to be sustainable and successful, it should engage residents of the community, and the best way to get them involved is to allow them to earn livelihood from their efforts,” she said.

The Sagip Ilog program is aimed at cleaning up the Las Piñas-Zapote River and addressing the worsening flood problem, which had been attributed to accumulated garbage as well as proliferation of water hyacinths (commonly known as water lily) that clogged waterways. Over the years, it has evolved into various comprehensive green social enterprises such as the water hyacinth weaving, handloom blanket weaving and the coconut coir and peat enterprise. These green social enterprises encompass environment protection, waste management, livelihood opportunities, and even cultural promotion through the resulting products – such as handicrafts from water lilies and lanterns from bamboo.

The Sagip Ilog program has also received international recognition since 2006, bagging the “Best Practices Award for its Outstanding Contribution towards Improving the Living Environment” by the UN Humans Settlement Programme and the Dubai International Award. It was also awarded by the AOIKOD International Award for Social Enterprise from River Rehabilitation” and the “International Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice” presented by the Green Organisation.