Photo shows World Bank Financial Management team visited the Manila Water’s program beneficiaries in TUPREA I, Western Bicutan, Taguig City.
A financial team from the World Bank (WB) recently visited the beneficiaries of Manila Water’s flagship program dubbed as Water for the Community or “Tubig sa Barangay” project in Taguig City.
Manila Water East Zone Business Operations Group Director Ferdinand Dela Cruz said the team composed of financial management specialists visited the beneficiaries at TUPREA I, Western Bicutan, Taguig where they witnessed first-hand the benefits of the project meant to provide low cost but safe, potable and clean drinking water to urban poor communities in the East Zone Concession Area.
The team, whose members came from Indonesia, Cambodia, China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, was also briefed on the details of the project and how Manila Water was able to implement it with the objective of possibly replicating similar projects in their home countries.
“The World Bank officials were very interested in seeing the impact of the program to the community,” Dela Cruz said.
Prior to the project’s implementation, residents of TUPREA used to source their water from deepwells, while others had to buy poor quality water from vendors for as much as P25 per cubic meter.
With the implementation of the “Tubig Para sa Barangay” project, residents are now enjoying clean and potable water 24/7.
To date, Manila Water has also installed more than 300 service connections benefitting more than 300 families in the community.
Last year, the World Bank-administered Global Partnership for Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) recognized the “Tubig Para Sa Barangay” as one of the best innovative implemented programs at the GPOBA’s 10th Anniversary held in Washington DC. GPOBA is a World Bank-administered program which aims to improve delivery of basic infrastructure and social services such as water to the poor in developing countries, using Output-Based Aid (OBA) approaches.