In celebration of its 140th year, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the country’s chief agency on water and sewerage services in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, is gearing up for a series of activities from January to February 2018 aimed at forging the spirit of unity and camaraderie among stakeholders, employees, partners in progress, loyal customers and clients.
Dubbed “MWSS @ 140: From Carriedo to Balara—Ensuring Water Security,” the various activities will be highlighted with the expected presence of President Rodrigo Duterte for the main event in February with the formal opening on Jan. 12, 2018 of the Carriedo Cup and Sportsfest, a month-long sports tournament among participating agencies located inside the MWSS compound, featuring various sports disciplines such as basketball, bowling, table tennis, chess, and even traditional Filipino games such as sungka.
The Carriedo Cup had its soft opening with the basketball tournament led by MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco and graced by TNT Katropa players, Local Water Utilities Administrator Jeci Lapuz, MWSS RO Chief Patrick Ty, Maynilad VP Randy Estrallado and AVP Anette H. De Ocampo, and Manila Water Group Director for Strategic Asset Management Abelardo Basilio.
“With the support, unity and camaraderie of everybody, the concessionaires, the stakeholders, the support of the staff, I am very confident that we will be able to attain the objectives that we have set for ourselves and these activities are just the beginning of enduring partnership for sustainable development,” says MWSS Administrator Velasco. “It’s a very difficult path to thread but we are confident that given the collective efforts of everyone, we will be able to overcome—and we are committed to do just that.”
Velasco thanked the all-out support of the MWSS Board of Trustees led by Chairman Franklin Demonteverde, Manila Water President and CEO Ferdinand Dela Cruz, Maynilad Water Services President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez, Luzon Clean Water Development Corporation President Ramon S. Ang and LCWDC Head of Operations for Infrastructure Edgar Doña.
The Carriedo Cup is in honor of Don Francisco Carriedo y Peredo, a retired Captain-General and Philanthropist from Santander, Spain, who earmarked his entire fortune of P10,000 to Manila as the seed money for public water supply that paved the way for the construction of the Carriedo Water System on February 18, 1878. The first Carriedo fountain in Manila has become a noteworthy symbol for MWSS with a replica of the water fountain now standing majestically at the MWSS compound in Balara.
Other activities lined for the MWSS @ 140 celebration are the Carriedo Fun Run dubbed as Takbo Para Sa Kalikasan, a 5K and 10K run that promotes a healthy lifestyle and encourages participants and onlookers to protect the watersheds and its environs in support of the DENR-MWSS Annual Million Tree Challenge; the Carriedo Golf tournament and the Carriedo Shootfest.
The MWSS 140th celebration will also feature a Photo Exhibit spanning the journey of MWSS for 140 years and an Art Exhibit of the many artworks and collections housed at the MWSS buildings. These paintings, sculptures and art works which date as far back as the era of former President Ferdinand Marcos, show the many Filipino traditions and cultures such as bayanihan at its finest.
Velasco announced that MWSS is also set to inaugurate the MWSS Multi-Purpose Hall, a 775-square meter gymnasium designed for basketball enthusiasts and restaurant facilities for personnel and guests of MWSS and the concessionaires – Maynilad and Manila Water which constructed said projects in time for the agency’s milestone celebration.
The gym, which has a 250-seater capacity, has as its special amenities a movable stage; overhead control / VIP box with complete sound system; FIBA standard resilient floor, goal, lighting configuration; Automatic game and shot clock with digital score board; Chlorine rubber based (CRB) paint on the side court; MWSS Logo; fiberglass bleachers; and a Fully air-conditioned facility run by 100TR AHU strategically and aseptically laid within the building.