More Filipinos now have access to potable water and improved sanitary facilities compared to a decade ago, according to a regional report released Thursday.

According to the 2012 ASEAN Community Progress Monitoring System (ACPMS) Report released by the ASEAN stats, the proportion of Filipinos with access to safe drinking water rose to 82.5 percent in 2010 from 78.7 percent in 2000.

The proportion of Filipinos with access to better sanitary facilities likewise improved to 91.9 percent in 2010 from 79 percent a decade before.

Given this improvement, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said that it is possible for the Philippines to attain its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of ensuring that 86.5 percent of the country's population will have access to improved drinking water.

The 83.8 percent MDG for access to sanitary facilities, meanwhile, has already been met in 2002.

More than that, the NSCB believes that improving access to water and sanitation facilities will help with lifting more people from poverty.

"Improved access to water and sanitation in the long term will lead to better health conditions and will positively affect the quality of the labor force," the NSCB said.

The NSCB said that the ACPMS Report indicated improvements across all ASEAN member states (AMS) on the indicator on safe drinking water as well as on better sanitary facilities.

Each member state of the ASEAN recorded an increasing trend from 2000 to 2010 in terms of the percentage of population with access to improved drinking water and sanitary facilities, the agency said.

The Philippines ranked sixth among the ASEAN member countries in the improved drinking water indicator. Singapore and Brunei topped the list with 100 percent of their population having access to safe drinking water.

Singapore also ranked first in the indicator on improved sanitary facilities, with 100 percent of its population having access to sanitary toilet facility, which was followed by Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.