Manila Water, Ayala convert WTC into quarantine facility

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water has joined partner corporations in the Ayala Group of companies to convert the World Trade Center (WTC) in Pasay City into a fully operational healthcare and quarantine facility for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

When it opens this month, the facility, dubbed “WTC: We Heal As One Center,” will be able to accommodate more than 500 patients and healthcare workers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) medical team.

Manila Water built 27 shower facilities with hot and cold water for COVID-19 patients throughout the center, while 10 more were constructed for use by frontliners and medical workers.

The company also provided three static water tanks to ensure continuous supply and adequate water pressure for the showers.

A 10-cubic meter collapsible tank is connected to the shower facilities while another five-cubic meter tank was also installed for drinking water. An additional 15-cubic meter tank was provided for back-up water supply.

Meanwhile, Manila Water’s Healthy Family Purified Water and the Manila Water Foundation set up 25 dispensers and 50 units of five-gallon water bottles to address drinking water requirements at the facility.

Robert Baffrey, Manila Water’s director for corporate project management, said the team completed the task in 12 days, finishing on April 11, despite the enhanced community quarantine.

“In close coordination with partners within and outside the Ayala Group, our colleagues worked round-the-clock and stayed on-site, even during Holy Week, to complete construction,” he said.

“Construction was monitored very closely to ensure that shower and drinking facilities were available to the healthcare facility as early as possible,” Baffrey said.

He added that it was a privilege to have been a part of this unified inter-organizational effort performed in the spirit of service and compassion for our fellow countrymen, both patients and frontliners, in the battle against COVID-19.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) eyes to complete in 10 days at least three quarantine tents in Bocaue, Bulacan that could accommodate up to 300 COVID-19 patients, an official said yesterday. – With Robertzon Ramirez