MANILA, Philippines - Metro Pacific and DMCI Holdings-led Maynilad Water Services Inc. (Maynilad) is cracking down on illegal water connections.
The West Zone water utility concessionaire has received 330 reports of illegal connections after launching its Sugpuin ang Ilegal na Koneksyon AgaD (SIKAD) program this year.
Out of the 330 reported cases, 92 have been investigated, of which 48 were confirmed as illegal connections.
The rest are still undergoing strict technical verification.
Based on the water company’s initial computations, the illegal connections have consumed over 120,000 cubic meters (cu.m.) of water, which is enough to supply over 5,280 average-sized households for one month.
Maynilad launched the SIKAD program to protect the water quality of its customers and reduce water losses.
The program, which ran for six months, encouraged the public to report illegal connections of commercial and industrial establishments by offering cash rewards.
For each confirmed illegal connection, a concerned citizen may be awarded P15,000 to P120,000. The cash reward was based on the under-collected amount of the reported illegal connection.
Maynilad is set to award a total of P1.15 million to the citizens whose reports were found to be valid under the SIKAD Program.
“We are thankful for those who have joined the program and appreciate their bravery and sense of civic duty. We hope that the public will continue to work with us in our efforts to improve our services,” said Maynilad president and CEO Ricky Vargas.
The public may continue to report leaks, illegal connections and illegal boosters to the Maynilad Hotline 1626.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base.
It is a concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for the West Zone of the Greater Manila Area, which is composed of the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the Districts of the Holy Spirit and Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas and Malabon all in Metro Manila; Cavite City, and the towns of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario, all in Cavite Province.