Caloocan villages get piped-in water after three decades
04/30/2008 | 11:04 AM
MANILA, Philippines - After waiting for three decades, two Caloocan City barangays finally realized their dreams of having reliable water supply after Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) partnered with a non-government organization to provide water in the area.
The joint project, dubbed “Tubigan sa Pangarap," was initiated to assist an estimated 2,500 urban poor households in Pangarap Village to get piped-in water supply from Maynilad despite land ownership disputes in the location.
Streams of Knowledge, a non-government organization composed of a global coalition of Water and Sanitation Resource Centers which has partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), will serve as the small-scale water provider operating the internal water system in Pangarap Village.
The project’s inauguration, held last April 25, 2008, was graced by Maynilad president Rogelio Singson, Streams of Knowledge executive secretary Rosario Villaluna, UNDP representative Kyo Naka, and barangay leaders.
Before the project’s implementation, residents bought their water supply from vendors.
Nida Gualberto, a storeowner and resident of Brgy. 181 for 17 years, said she used to spend over P1,000 per month to pay for water delivery.
“With Maynilad’s piped-in service, I can save money now," she said. “We no longer need to wait for water trucks."
According to Hipolito Gadia, Maynilad’s North Caloocan Business Center manager, the supply of water to Pangarap Village follows a special bulk-selling arrangement in which the tariff to be applied is the lowest rate.
For her part, Villaluna expressed her optimism that their NGO’s pilot project with Maynilad will be a successful one, despite the harassment that their workers have been getting from parties who claim ownership of the land under court litigation.
Gadia added that the land ownership issue had prevented Maynilad from pushing through with its own plans for expansion in Brgy. 181 and 182.
“But for adjacent barangays with no ownership disputes like Pangarap, Maynilad is committed to achieve 100% coverage by year 2012. Proposed projects include a mainline expansion, as well as the construction of a North Treatment Plant which, when completed, will assure 24-hour water supply to customers of Caloocan North," he said. - GMANews.TV
The joint project, dubbed “Tubigan sa Pangarap," was initiated to assist an estimated 2,500 urban poor households in Pangarap Village to get piped-in water supply from Maynilad despite land ownership disputes in the location.
Streams of Knowledge, a non-government organization composed of a global coalition of Water and Sanitation Resource Centers which has partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), will serve as the small-scale water provider operating the internal water system in Pangarap Village.
The project’s inauguration, held last April 25, 2008, was graced by Maynilad president Rogelio Singson, Streams of Knowledge executive secretary Rosario Villaluna, UNDP representative Kyo Naka, and barangay leaders.
Before the project’s implementation, residents bought their water supply from vendors.
Nida Gualberto, a storeowner and resident of Brgy. 181 for 17 years, said she used to spend over P1,000 per month to pay for water delivery.
“With Maynilad’s piped-in service, I can save money now," she said. “We no longer need to wait for water trucks."
According to Hipolito Gadia, Maynilad’s North Caloocan Business Center manager, the supply of water to Pangarap Village follows a special bulk-selling arrangement in which the tariff to be applied is the lowest rate.
For her part, Villaluna expressed her optimism that their NGO’s pilot project with Maynilad will be a successful one, despite the harassment that their workers have been getting from parties who claim ownership of the land under court litigation.
Gadia added that the land ownership issue had prevented Maynilad from pushing through with its own plans for expansion in Brgy. 181 and 182.
“But for adjacent barangays with no ownership disputes like Pangarap, Maynilad is committed to achieve 100% coverage by year 2012. Proposed projects include a mainline expansion, as well as the construction of a North Treatment Plant which, when completed, will assure 24-hour water supply to customers of Caloocan North," he said. - GMANews.TV
