West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) has started providing its services to a neighborhood in Caloocan that has not been connected to any water utility for the last 24 years.
In a statement, Maynilad recently connected Purok Biyaya in Barangay 167 of Caloocan City to its water network, giving some 141 urban poor families access to safe and affordable water supply.
For almost 24 years, Purok Biyaya residents relied on expensive deliveries of deep well water from private water truck operators amid issues with land ownership and right-of-way.
Because of this, residents in the area would have to pay P40 for each drum of water, while families there typically consume around 48 drums per month (or 10 cubic meters).
This means that that they used to spend around P1,920 a month just to have water for their household needs.
“Now that they have a Maynilad connection, their monthly spending for potable water has dropped to only P130 for the same volume of water,” Maynilad said.
Moving forward, the water company will continuously seek to extend services to urban poor households within its concession area.
“Everyone has the right to enjoy safe water supply at affordable rates. This is why we strive to connect these poor communities which, ironically, are spending more for water than those in affluent areas,” said Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base.
It is the agent and contractor of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (certain portions), Quezon City (certain portions), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.