Metro Dumaguete Water (MDW), Dumaguete City Water District (DCWD), TESDA Negros Oriental, and the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC), signed an agreement Tuesday to launch a plumber training series for all 30 barangays in Dumaguete City.

The program entitled, “Kauban’g Tubero sa Barangay”, is a basic skills training program to enable and capacitate barangay plumbers for the city and address the need for after-the-meter and household plumbing water service concerns.

MDW COO David Berba opened the simple ceremony stating the growing need for plumbers in the city to help address water losses. “The graduates from this program will be able to support the common plumbing concerns at home and at the same time, provide employment and support to the barangay,” said Berba.

Director Joel Villagracia, Provincial Director of TESDA Negros Oriental during his message, called the program the start of providing more livelihood opportunities to the city and a great avenue for the agency to support the industry.

Councilor Dionie Amores who represented the ABC also acknowledged MDW’s programs sharing the company’s comprehensive approach to its support to the barangays.

“We thank MDW for their continued support, with this plumber training series together with the donated mobile phones for barangay hotlines, we can further help report leaks and help our constituents with their household water service concerns,” shared Amores.

DCWD GM Eric Diaz shared that he is happy with this partnership, as DCWD had also been training plumbers several years back. “Not all pipes are ideal for drinking water so we would teach plumbers what type of pipes to buy,” he said.

The Kauban’g Tubero sa Barangay will run for 3 batches from April to May 2023. The ABC is tasked to nominate 60 candidates based on the criteria set for the program. MDW and DCWD also vows to provide basic plumbing tools to all 30 barangays as part of the program.