DUMAGUETE CITY – Barangay captains in Dumaguete have lauded improvements introduced by the Metro Pacific Dumaguete Water Services, Inc. (MDW) in Dumaguete City.
In a meeting of the Liga ng mga Barangay Wednesday, ABC President and City Councilor Dionie Amores said there has been a noticeable improvement in the City’s water supply due to the continued efforts of the MDW in spotting and repairing water leaks, upgrading the pumping stations, and replacing old and worn-out water pipes.
MDW Chief Operating Officer David Berba reported to the barangay captains that the water losses in Dumaguete, which was at 46 percent when MDW started in February last year, has now gone down to 41 percent due to the company’s program to increase the water supply.
“The reduction in the water leaks has added 2.5 million liters per day into the system. A 41 percent water loss is still big but through our programs, we are slowly getting better,” Berba said.
Berba added that with the improved water supply in several barangays, MDW can concentrate on barangays Batinguel, Motong and Babajuba. He announced that by June, MDW targets to break ground for two new pumping stations and reservoirs to add another 5 MLD into the Dumaguete water system.
To further improve the company’s interaction with the barangays, MDW, in cooperation with sister company PLDT Inc and Smart Telecommunications, will be giving cellphones to all 30 barangays in the City under the company’s Kauban program.
MDW Communications Officer Kate Young Ricardo said each barangay will get one cellphone from MDW while PLDT-Smart Enterprise will provide the sim card and the initial load. Young said the programs aims to encourage barangays to report water leaks that would reduce water pressure and supply. It can also be used by the barangay as their hotline and a means by which they could communicate with their own community and even other agencies.
“If not for your efforts, even our grandchildren would continue to suffer the water leaks that you discovered,” Councilor Amores said.
The barangay officials agreed with Amores that because of MDW’s program to actively involve the barangays in their plans, it is easy for them to approach the MDW top management to bring up their concerns.
“Before MDW, we were always kept wondering what their plans were, but now, we are seeing the improvements,” Amores said. Describing the barangay captains interactions with the water company as “very approachable”, Amores said this is the first time that a top official of a water company would address them in this manner.
