Manila Water Operations Chief Operating Officer Geodino V. Carpio welcomed ASEAN delegates during a visit last September 5 to the Tubig Para Sa Barangay (TPSB - Water for the Community) project in Western Bicutan, Taguig. The TPSB is one of Manila Water’s inclusive business models in addressing access to clean and safe water for low-income communities while at the same time creating solutions to eradicate illegal connections pervasive in informal settlements and are a major cause of water losses.

More than 20 delegates from various financial institutions such as the International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, Credit Suisse, Board of Investments, as well as representatives from various local and international companies and institutions from the United States, Laos, Germany, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore joined the visit and interacted with the beneficiaries of the Water for the Community program in Taguig. 

“We are very privileged that ASEAN chose Manila Water as one of its case studies of successful inclusive business models. Since we began operations more than 20 years ago, we have put premium in ensuring that all our communities within the East Zone have access to reliable and potable water supply. This enabled us to achieve 100% water coverage in our central distribution system while bringing down non-revenue water from a high of 63% way back in 1997 down to the current 11%, at par with the world’s best, if not better,” says Carpio. He also went on to explain another business model, Healthy Family Purified Water, which is a product of Manila Water Total Solutions that harnesses the entrepreneurial skills of communities and makes them partners and distributors of the 5-gallon and 500-ml bottled purified water.

Taguig Area Business Manager Bryan Magallanes led the discussion on how the partnership between the community and local government served as a critical element in ensuring the success of the program. To date, more than 600 households of the Technological University of the Philippines Residents Association, Inc. (TUPREAI) in Taguig have benefited from the program.

The ASEAN delegates also took time to see the water connections in the community and engaged the officers and member-beneficiaries of TUPREAI in a very insightful discussion on how the program has significantly improved their lives.