Research No. 1 - History of Metro Manila Sewerage System - Medina, Joseph James S.
Research No. 1 - History of Metro Manila Sewerage System - Medina, Joseph James S.
Research No. 1 - History of Metro Manila Sewerage System - Medina, Joseph James S.
CE144-B10
Research No. 1
History of Metro Manilas Sewerage System
I. MWSS and Maynilad
A. 1878 The Building of the Carriedo System (MWSS)
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) holds the distinction of
being one of the oldest and most formidable government organizations in the Philippines.
Its roots were traced to the first water system laid out in old Manila in 1878 from funds
donated by Spanish philanthropist Francisco Carriedo y Peredo. This water system served
16 million liters of water per day (MLD) to 300,000people. Its main objective was to
improve the peoples health and living conditions through clean drinking water.
The Carriedo System had evolved from the Manila Water Supply System in 1908 to
Metropolitan Water District in 1919. Thirty-five years later, year 1955, it became the
National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA).
Water Crisis
Many laws were promulgated for the purpose of addressing the water crisis.
However, the most significant and related to the operation of the water utilities, among
others, was the National Water Crisis Act of 1995 (RA #8041). This law states the need for
the government to adopt urgent and effective measures to address the nationwide water
crisis which adversely affects the health and wellbeing of the population, food production
and industrialization process.
These was followed by the enactment of Executive Order No. 286 (December 6,
1995) which affected the reorganization of the MWSS and Local Water Utilities
Administration (LWUA) to enable these agencies to become more effective, efficient and
responsive to the countrys needs for potable water. In March 1996, Executive Order No.
311 was implemented. This policy encouraged the private sectors participation in the
operation and facilities of MWSS.
The MWSS Regulatory Office (RO) was created in August 1997 by virtue of the
Concession Agreements signed between the MWSS and the two concessionaires, Manila
Water Company, Inc. for the East Zone and Maynilad Water Services, Inc. for the West
Zone.
RO functions as a collegial body composed of five members headed by the Director
or Chief Regulator who has over-all responsibility for the operation of the office. Other
members are the Regulators for Technical Regulation, Customer Service Regulation,
Financial Regulation and Administration and Legal Affairs.
D. Maynilad History
Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) was formed in 1997, after the
consortium of Benpres Holdings Corporation and Suez Lyonnaise de Eaux won the
exclusive right to provide water and wastewater services in the West Zone of Metropolitan
Manila. Before then, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) was in
charge of providing these services.
A Difficult Start
Towards the end of 1997, Maynilad struggled to meet its service and financial
obligations because of the Asian financial crisis and El Nino phenomenon. These events
led to a string of financial, legal and regulatory disputes between Maynilad and MWSS.
In 2005, Benpres and Suez ceded management and control of Maynilad to MWSS.
A competitive bidding was done by the Philippine Government the following year to re-
privatize Maynilad.
Change in Ownership
DMCI-MPIC Water Company, a joint venture between Metro Pacific Investments
Corporation (MPIC) and DMCI Holdings, Inc. (DMCI), won the competitive bidding and
acquired 83.96% of Maynilad's shares.
On January 24, 2007, the new owners took over Maynilad and launched an
aggressive five-year investment program to rehabilitate the company and its operations. In
2013, Marubeni Corporation of Japan acquired a 20% stake in DMCI-MPIC Water
Company and became a strategic partner of the Metro Pacific-DMCI consortium.