Manila Water celebrated its 11th Toka Toka Awards with over 90 barangay representatives from 23 barangays in the East Zone of Metro Manila and parts of Rizal Province at the MWSS Multipurpose Hall in Balara, Quezon City, on 17 November 2023.

With this year's theme, "Sama-sama sa 11sang Toka", the company honored top-performing barangays for helping the company achieve its desludging targets as a vehicle for building sustainable communities.

Launched in 2012, Toka Toka is the first and only environmental movement in the Philippines focused on wastewater treatment and management as a way of protecting rivers and other waterways. It aims to educate and engage communities to do their share, or toka, to contribute to healthier waterways by participating in desludging activities, practicing proper solid waste management, and connecting to sewer lines.

Barangay Santa Cruz of Antipolo bagged the first place of the Kalikasan Award for their Hapag: Community Garden at the 11^th Toka Toka Awards which also paid tribute to barangays with impactful sustainable environmental practices.

Kalikasan Awardees

The 11^th Toka Toka anniversary cited the top three Ka-Toka ng Kalikasan barangays for the successful implementation of their respective sustainable environmental programs.

From the five entries gathered from the East Zone of Metro Manila, Barangay Plainview of Mandaluyong City won third place for their Community Garden. Bagging second place was Barangay New Zaniga of Mandaluyong with their Dyario Bag-making Livelihood Project. Finally, taking first place was Barangay Santa Cruz of Antipolo City with Hapag: Community Garden.

Ka-Toka for Desludging

A total of 18 East Zone barangays were recognized as Ka-Toka for Desludging and cited for achieving at least 60% availment rate of the company’s desludging services in their communities.

Of the 18, nine barangays were honored with Gawad Ka-Toka Achievers for Desludging. There were three (3) categories: Sapa (Creek), for barangays with 1–1,000 septic tanks; Ilog (River), which consists of barangays with 1,000 to 1,200 septic tanks; and Dagat (Sea/Ocean), for those barangays with 2,001 and above septic tanks in their jurisdiction.

Barangays 770 of Manila (Rank 3) and Blue Ridge A (Rank 2) and Blue Ridge B (Rank 1) of Quezon City were honored as Sapa category achievers. Ilog category achievers were Marikina barangays Santa Elena (Rank 3), Tumana (Rank 2), and Concepcion Dos (Rank 1). Top desludging performers for the Dagat category went to barangays Concepcion Uno (Rank 3) of Marikina, San Miguel (Rank 2) of Pasig, and Parang (Rank 1) of Marikina.

Manila Water hopes that with the Toka-Toka program, more barangays will do their share in protecting the environment and supporting the company’s wastewater operations.