Ch. Domingo

Adm. Hondrade

Quezon City--- The government's program to improve public access to safe piped potable water supply in the countryside, to include the identified so-called "waterless communities" will be presented in the 15th International Conference and Exhibition on Water Resource Management, otherwise known as PhilWater 2007 which is set to open Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at the Asturias Hotel in Puerto Princesa City.

Engr. Proceso T. Domingo, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) will present the vision, strategies and plans and programs of LWUA in helping attain full water supply coverage of all barangays in the country in support of President Arroyo's legacy program on water and the Philippine Millennium Development Goal (PMDG) opening the technical session of the three-day international water meet hosted by the country annually since 1992.

PhilWater 2007 with theme," Sustainable Water Management and Practices…Meeting Our Critical Water Challenges", is organized by the Philippine Water Works Association (PWWA) presently headed by its president, Engr. Orlando C. Hondrade who is also LWUA Administrator. Co-sponsoring the affair is the Puerto Princesa City Government under Mayor Edward Hagedorn.

The administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan has set the goal of providing safe and potable water supply to all barangays in the country between 2004 and 2010 with priority on at least 200 waterless urban barangays in Metro Manila and 200 waterless municipalities in the countryside.

LWUA's share in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan includes the completion of 223 water infrastructure projects within a three-year period starting in 2008 thereby making possible access to safe potable piped water supply to 490,000 additional service connections or a total of more than two and a half million additional Filipinos in the provincial areas by 2010.

Between 2008 and 2010, LWUA plans to invest an additional P5.4 Billion towards the completion of these additional 223 water infrastructure projects. In specific terms, LWUA plans to complete Level Three water projects in 71 water districts in 2008; 59 water projects in 2009 and another 93 projects in 2010 that will also include projects for waterless communities covered by water districts to be determined in coordination with other government agencies as the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC). By year 2010, the total cumulative population served under the LWUA-water district jurisdiction is estimated to increase to 16.6 million from 12.6 million in 2004.

LWUA's goals include expanded service coverage, development of self-sustaining water districts and/or water service providers; LWUA's own continued financial viability and the attainment of good corporate governance and world-class rating.

For the next three years, LWUA has set the vision of being the leader in developing and sustaining the provision of safe potable water service to the Filipino in the countryside with the mission of developing water districts and water service providers into self-sustaining institutions by providing them financial, technical, institutional and regulatory assistance through a viable, effective and globally-competitive LWUA organization.
c October 1 , 2007