For Manila Water, every drop of water counts

MANILA, Philippines -  Whenever Liza Lucero of Tumana in Marikina sees water dribbling from a leaking faucet, she squirms like a worm on a fish hook. While others tend to disregard such trivial glitch, Lucero will really make an effort to call the attention of the concerned people to address the drip – immediately.

Water wastage is Lucero’s major pet peeve, especially having to spend 16 years of her life without water connection. “The hardships we experienced are inexplicable,” she said in Filipino.

When her husband brought her to Tumana in 1995 to live near his relatives, she seemed to have been in a permanent state of drought. It was very far from her native Tarlac. The place was almost desolate back then and most of all, there was no water connection.

“We had to fetch water from way up there,” she recalled, referring to the only establishment in the area that has water connection during that time. “It’s a good five-minute walk away.”

Clearly, the five-minute walk to the area wasn’t that bad. However, the journey back to their homes was a physical torture. They had to lug heavy, water-filled containers on their way back. And they had to do this several times a day to fill about two drums, which are barely enough to cover the needs of a family of four. Soon, they had to procure a bicycle with sidecar to ease the burden.  

Sometime in 1996, candidates wooing for their votes for the next local election graciously sponsored the installation of artesian well in their compound. But the water is not potable. They were even hesitant to use it for their laundry as it leaves yellow stains on clothes. So they still had to fetch water for drinking and cooking the hard way.

They also availed the services of a water delivery truck. A drumful of water is priced at P30 each so an average consumption of at least two drums a day would fetch for around P900 per month. And for someone who receives a rank-and-file salary in the barangay office with a husband working as a family driver, P900 worth of utility expenses for water alone is very heavy on the budget.

Salvation came in 2010 in the form of Manila Water’s flagship program. Dubbed as Tubig Para Sa Barangays (TPSB) or Water for the Poor, this water-for-the-community program is administered by Manila Water, in partnership with donors and international organizations via the Global Partnership on Output-based Aid (GPOBA). GPOBA supports projects that aim to “increase access to basic services for poor developing countries.”

As its goal, TBSP “seeks to provide affordable piped potable water to poor households within the East Zone which covers the eastern portion of NCR and most of Rizal.”

Target beneficiaries are approximately 20,000 poor households or 96,416 people. Eligible households will be granted water connection by just paying the meter and guarantee deposits while GPOBA subsidizes the connection fees. So instead of forking over P7,000, each household are required to pay only P600.

When pipes were already being installed at their barangay, Lucero recalled that their morale was so high that it even brought out the bayanihan spirit in them. “Many community members volunteered to assist in the excavation and laying down of pipes.”

When the first gush of clean, tap water finally flowed from the newly-installed faucet, everybody cheered. “We all felt like partying.” 

But the current abundance in water supply has not changed Lucero’s views on water in any way. “I know water is very essential. Thus I continuously encourage my neighbors to share their blessings to other households that have not yet benefitted from Manila Water. Or at least, sell water at a very fair price.”

To date, over 1.6 million people from low-income communities have enjoyed the positive results of the TPSB program such as bigger savings for families, reduction in water-borne diseases, and improvement in the overall sanitation conditions of the community.

This strengthens the Ayala-led water company’s vision to supply clean, safe and more affordable water for all – 24 hours, seven days a week.