Four Months Later: My Promise to Fix Our Water Line

 

In the last quarter of 2025, I discovered that our water pipe near the meter was broken. At first, I thought it was just a small leak, but I didn’t act right away. Because of that delay, our water bill jumped from the usual ₱400 a month to almost ₱2,500. Every night, we had to turn off the water line just to stop the meter from running. Still, I kept postponing the repair.

On October 14, 2025, I watched an episode of Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho about Lola Matilde from Sitio Calibasan, Toledo City, Cebu. At 75 years old, she treks through the mountains every day just to fetch water. With her limited strength, she carries only two to three small gallon containers in a basket on her back. It’s a buwis-buhay journey—risking her life just to drink and survive.

Her story struck me deeply. While Lola climbs mountains for every drop of water, I was wasting so much because of my broken pipe. That night, I made a promise: I would fix our water line. But four months passed before I finally acted on that promise.

The truth is, we really had no idea where the broken pipeline was. We suspected it might be underground, which made it very hard for us to locate the exact leak. After struggling to figure it out, we decided the best solution was to buy and install a brand-new pipe instead of chasing the hidden damage.

On February 20, 2026, the promise was fulfilled. With the help of our kind neighbor, Kuya Inggo, and my brother, we installed a brand-new 100-meter pipe. After hours of hard work, the water meter finally stopped running even when all faucets were closed. For the first time in months, we no longer had to turn off the water line every night or worry about another ballooning bill.

Looking back, I realize how long I endured paying ₱2,500 monthly for water that should have only cost ₱400. More than the money, it was the waste that hurts me most. I sincerely apologize for letting so much clean water go to waste before I acted.

Sometimes things really do take a long time to be fixed, especially when you don’t give them enough time. But no matter how slow life feels before something is finally resolved, what matters most is that you finish it, you fix it, and you can finally breathe with relief.

Now, every time I see our fixed water line, I remember Lola Matilde’s strength and my promise. Her story taught me that water is life, and it should never be taken for granted.