Manila Water serves .15 M urban poor

More people living in Metro Manila’s east zone now have access to safe and potable water. In 1998, one year after the privatization of the government-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Service (MWSS), Manila Water rolled out a program called ‘Tubig Para Sa Barangay (TPSB)’ to provide more residents of Metro Manila with access to safe and potable water. As of today, the project has benefited 150,000 urban poor.

At the core of the TPSB is the expansion of water service connections, not just to meet the Ayala-led concessionaire’s service obligation targets, but to supply the city’s growing water demand as well. Another goal of the project is to eliminate the pesky problem of widespread water pilferage, illegal water selling by syndicates, and the danger of water contamination due to poorly connected waterlines.

The project has been successfully undertaken in close coordination with the East Zone’s local government units down to the barangay level, particularly in the heavily-populated communities of Quezon City, Pasig City, Marikina City and Mandaluyong City. Manila Water has also completed Tubig Para sa Barangay projects jointly with the Office of the First Lady, Loi Estrada, in Sta. Ana, Manila and Mandaluyong City.

Under the scheme, each service connection with their own water meter, is shared by a cluster of four to five families. The residents are then requested to regularly check their connections for leaks and possible illegal tapping and report them to the proper authorities. Residents thus get a hands-on role in securing their own water connections, maintaining them to ensure the quality of supply, and police illegal connections. Meanwhile, unscrupulous water vendors, who make a hefty profit in such areas, are neutralized.

For populated areas located on high elevations, Manila Water has constructed deepwells and rehabilitated old MWSS deepwells to augment supply. The new wells have been set up in San Juan, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City. To date, over 20,000 residents are benefiting from this additional supply.

With the success of these projects, Manila Water will implement more projects along the similarly rolling terrain of Pasig City, Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, Marikina City and San Juan to benefit an additional 100,000 residents. Aside from the Tubig Para sa Barangay and deepwell projects, additional watering points are likewise on the drawing board for Antipolo and the Rizal towns aimed at servicing some 350,000 residents.

From 308,121 connections in August 1997, Manila Water has expanded connections to 405,000 as of November 1999. This 31 percent increase in new service connections is significant because Manila Water was able to achieve a 87 percent compliance as of November 2000.