MANILA, Philippines - Firmly believing that access to clean water is a basic human right, Maynilad Water Services, Inc. launched Samahang Tubig Maynilad (STM) in 2009 so it could provide informal settlers in its concession area with safe, affordable water.
To date, around 2,140 households in nine marginalized communities have benefitted from STM, with another 2,264 households targeted to become beneficiaries of Maynilad’s community development program. From P30 to P35 per drum, beneficiaries now only pay P10 per drum. And unlike the water bought from illegal water vendors, the water supplied by Maynilad is potable and fit for domestic consumption.
Aside from generating savings for its beneficiaries and improving their sanitation conditions, STM has also been instrumental in empowering informal settlers through the values formation, skills training and livelihood components of the program.
Prior to the installation of the water system in the beneficiary community, Maynilad organized residents into cooperatives and conducted the necessary training so that the members could manage the water system and payment collections. STM aguadors (delivery boys) were also tasked to distribute water in the community while other members took charge of maintaining and repairing the water system.
Lydia Codinera, president of STM Tondo, attested to their community’s transformation. “The STM is a huge blessing for us, as we now get our water at a significantly cheaper rate. Moreover, a lot of us used to get sick due to the dirty water and we needed to boil the water first. Now we get safe drinking water ,” said Codinera.
Encouraged by the positive feedback and changes made by STM, Maynilad is set to establish 13 more STMs in Fairview, North Caloocan, and Malabon. The company hopes that through this program it could transform even more poor communities in the West Zone.
“STM is really about improving the lives of Filipinos through clean water. This is, after all, our vision – to provide convenient access to the 16 million Filipinos who do not have access to clean and safe water,” said Maynilad president and CEO Ricky Vargas.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base. It is a concessionaire of the MWSS for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area.