Quezon City---The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) marks its 33rd year Monday, September 18, 2006 with record-high accomplishments in its various development operations topped by a first-ever P2 Billion plus loan collection from borrower water districts in just seven months and P1.1 Billion worth of completed water supply projects that now benefit an additional two million Filipinos in the countryside.

This was announced by LWUA Administrator Lorenzo H. Jamora who said that notwithstanding its record performances, the agency will still be celebrating its anniversary modestly this Monday starting with the traditional thanksgiving mass and a simple program to be highlighted by the annual presentation of service awards to its deserving and long-serving employees.

LWUA is the lead national government agency for the promotion and development of provincial water supply systems established on September 18, 1973 by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 198, as amended, also known as the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973. Primarily a specialized lending institution for the development financing of water supply projects in the countryside, LWUA also provides institutional development and technical assistance to as well as exercise supervision and regulatory control over the country's duly-established local water utilities known as water districts.

Jamora said LWUA registered a record in its financial operations with its loan collection from borrower water districts reaching the P2-Billion level for the first time that was achieved in just seven months ending in July 2006. This record collection was reached, bolstered by advance payments of long-term receivables by the Metro Cebu and Metro Iloilo water districts amounting to P1.286 Billion through the loan re-financing facility of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). Six other water districts namely Trece Martirez and Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Cavite; Naujan, Mindoro Occidental; Catbalogan, Samar; President Roxas, Capiz and Cotabato City also made advance payments of their long term loans amounting to P5.163 million.

But Jamora clarified that even without those advance payments totaling to P1.292 Billion, LWUA is still well on track of its target collection of P120 million per month considering the P878 million collected as of the same seven-months period by the agency as regular loan amortization by borrower water districts which translated to an average of P125 million collection per month.

Regarding its loan-lending operation, Jamora reported that LWUA granted an additional P433.23 million in new loans to twelve water districts as of July 2006 bringing to more than P22 Billion the agency's total loan exposure for provincial water supply projects since 1973. Biggest loans went to the water districts of Cagayan de Oro City with P391 million; Angat, Bulacan (P15 million); Silay City (P9.989 million); and Bais City ( P4 million).

Meanwhile, LWUA has also completed a total of 52 water supply improvement and expansion projects in as many provincial cities and towns worth a combined P1.15 Billion from September 2005 to August 2006 providing access to safe potable piped water to an additional two million people, Jamora further reported.

Most of the completed projects during the period were funded by official development assistance (ODA) funds under the various foreign-assisted project packages as the Asian Development Bank's Small Towns Water Supply Sector Project (STWSSP), the German Kreditanstalt fur Weiuderaufbau (KfW)'s Provincial Towns Water Supply Project (PTWSSP) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) with local counterpart funding from national government care of LWUA. A few were funded locally through LWUA's own internal cash generation, Jamora said.

The biggest number of projects were completed in Mindanao with 18 worth a combined P302 million but cost-wise, the biggest was in the Visayas with 10 completed water supply projects worth P434.5 million. LWUA completed a total of 15 projects in Northern and Central Luzon worth P219.7 million while nine water projects with a total cost of P182 million were completed in the Southern Tagalog and the Bicol regions.

Projects completed during the period included those in Sta. Ana, Sanchez-Mira and Gonzaga, in Cagayan; San Quintin and Urbiztondo in Pangasinan; Norzagaray (involving two projects) and San Miguel in Bulacan; San Jose City, San Antonio, Jaen and Cuyapo in Nueva Ecija; Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac; Limay and Hermosa in Bataan; San Andres, Catnduanes; Bacacay and Daraga in Albay; Sorsogon City, Bacon, Donsol and Pilar in Sorsogon; Metro Naga and Del Gallego in Camarines Sur; Estancia and Dumangas-Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo; Binalbagan, La Carlota City in Negros Occidental; Bais City, Negros Oriental; Metro Carigara and Metro Hilongos in Leyte; Guian and Taft in Eastern Samar; Laoang, Northern Samar;

San Francisco, Agusan del Sur; Cantillan and Lianga, Surigao del Sur; Panabo, Davao del Norte and Pikit, North Cotabato, both involving two projects each; Lupon, Davao Oriental; Island Garden City of Samal, Davao; Digos City and Hagonoy, Davao del Sur; Surallah, South Cotabato; Midsayap, North Cotabato; Lebak, Sultan Kudarat; Bacolod, Lanao del Norte; Isabela, Basilan and Misamis Occidental involving two projects.

Apart from its function of seeing to the institutional development of existing water districts through provision of training and management advisory assistance, LWUA also resumed the formation of new water districts during the period effecting the establishment of water districts in Labangan,Zamboanga del Sur and lately Mapandan, Pangasinan and rural water and sanitation association in Manamtam, Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya and initial formation activities in Sta. Rosa, Laguna and Imus, Cavite, Jamora reported.
c September 15 , 2006