Kampitan, Jon Bong Jovi O.

CE144/A1 October 13, 2014

CE-3/2010103623
History of Metro Manila Sewerage and Water supply System
On 19 June 1971, Republic Act 6234 was enacted. It dissolved the National Waterworks
and Sewerage System (NAWASA) and created in its place the Metropolitan Waterworks and
Sewerage System (MWSS). MWSS was thus given the mandate to ensure an uninterrupted and
adequate supply and distribution of potable water for domestic and other purposes at just and
equitable rates. The proper operation and maintenance of sewerage systems was likewise part
of its mandate. Approximately only 8% of the total service population and less than 7% of
households in the service area were covered. Sewerage facilities could be found only in some
areas in Manila and Makati, with most establishments having to use either their own or
communal septic tanks.
In 1997, the Legislature passed into law Republic Act 8041, also known as The Water
Crisis Act. The Act, which paved the way for the privatization of MWSS, had as its primary
objectives the which are Transfer financial burden to the private sector, Improve service
standards, Increase operational efficiency, and Minimize tariff impact. In August that year,
the Philippine government entered into a 25-year Concession Agreement with two private
consortia comprised of local and international partners. This effectively transferred the
operational responsibilities of MWSS to Manila Water Company, Inc. (for the East Zone) and
Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (for the West Zone). Amidst some uneasiness and skepticism, the
transition was implemented with the vision of transforming an inefficient, debt-ridden, and
overstaffed public corporation into a professional, well-performing, and financially viable
service utility. The development of new water sources, improvement of water delivery, and
expansion of coverage area, on the other hand, remained high in the list of the goals of
privatization.
Despite privatization, MWSS continued to exercise several of its legally mandated
functions including, facilitating the exercise by the concessionaires of its agency powers,
carrying out accounting and notification functions, monitoring, reporting, and administering
loans and performing related functions in connection with existing projects, managing and
disposing of retained assets, managing and operating the Umiray-Angat Transbasin Project.
These retained functions are presently the responsibility of the MWSS Corporate Office (CO).
The COs functions are further delineated by the functions of the MWSS Regulatory Office (RO),
which is primarily mandated to implement the provisions of the Concession Agreement.