Aboitiz InfraCapital presents ‘Agos ng Kinabukasan Award’ to Metro Lipa Water District
Metro Lipa Water District (MLWD) was recognized along with 14 other water and environment champions at this year’s World Water Day Awards.
Aboitiz InfraCapital (AIC) conferred the ‘Agos ng Kinabukasan’ Award to MLWD for its commitment to protect the environment and safeguard ground water resources.
“Aboitiz InfraCapital’s ‘Agos ng Kinabukasan Award’ celebrates outstanding individuals, institutions, and projects that advocate for the protection and preservation of water sources and the environment. We wanted to acknowledge Metro Lipa Water District, because like Aboitiz InfraCapital’s water business units, MLWD proactively takes action for sustainable and innovative solutions to environmental problems we are facing today,” said Anna Lu, Aboitiz InfraCapital Water Business Head and Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. President.
Considering that groundwater is the only major source of water supply of MLWD, and many households in the entire service area have open bottom septic tanks which can infiltrate and contaminate groundwater, MLWD was determined to take action for the protection of this water source, and put-up a Septage Treatment Plant. MLWD is one of the first water districts to construct its own Septage Treatment Facility for wastewater treatment which minimizes environmental impact and lessens the potential contamination of water discharges to receiving bodies of water.
MLWD General Manager Edgardo Orense graciously accepted the award. “Our team in Metro Lipa Water District would like to express our deepest gratitude to Aboitiz InfraCapital for this prestigious ‘Agos ng Kinabukasan’ Award. We are one with Aboitiz Group’s purpose of driving change for a better world by means of community empowerment,” he said.
“Coincidentally, the theme for this year’s celebration of World Water Day, ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible, Visible’, is a metaphor of MLWD’s experiences in recent years. We have been confronted with a series of catastrophic events that almost drowned us into the darkness. But through the faith, courage, and resilience of Lipenos, MLWD successfully managed to conquer the waves of such atrocities. The flow of socioeconomic development remains visible.
“This recognition is dedicated to our consumers whom we consider the lifeblood of our institution. Without their relentless support, our mission of providing safe and reliable water services for a sustainable future will not be possible. Makakaasa po kayo na ipagpapatuloy namin ang Agos ng Pag-asa para sa kinabukasan ng susunod na henerasyon,” he added.
MLWD is also an active member of the Lipa City Headwaters Council, supporting all its projects to maintain and rehabilitate the Malarayat Watershed. They are working with different Stakeholders through Water Forums to discuss problems on wastewater disposal and illegal logging.
The award was first presented during a virtual ceremony after a weeklong observance of World Water Day (WWD.PH Awards) carrying the theme “Groundwater: Making the Invisible, Visible”. The annual event was organized by the National Water Resources Board and Maynilad in collaboration with other water agencies and companies including Aboitiz InfraCapital and its water business units, Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (Apo Agua) and Lima Water Corporation (LWC).
Aboitiz InfraCapital tours the Metro Lipa Water District team led by General Manager Edgardo Orense (third from right) at the facilities of LIMA Water Corporation within the 794-hectare LIMA Estate in Lipa-Malvar, Batangas.
For more than five years now, the WWD.PH Awards has been a platform for honoring champions for water and the environment – individuals, institutions, and programs that have made strides in achieving water and water-environment sustainability in the Philippines.
In partnership with Davao City Water District, Apo Agua is currently building one of the country’s largest private bulk water supply facilities that can supply 300 million liters of safe and sustainable water daily to over one million Davaoeños. Meanwhile, LWC is the water and wastewater services provider for Lima Technology Center in Batangas, one of the country’s largest industrial parks and home to some of the biggest multinational manufacturers in the world. #
