COVERAGE of its water sampling and testing operations has been expanded to include several towns in Rizal province within its service grid.

Manila Water has identified 949 sampling points in its franchise area, including Antipolo City and the towns of Binangonan, San Mateo, Angono, Cainta, and Rodriguez (formerly Montalban) in Rizal province.

The sampling points cover residential areas, low-income communities, commercial establishments and public service institutions such as schools, hospitals and markets. 

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THE Lingap Eskwela program, a water and sanitation improvement program which includes the rehabilitation of lines, installation of drinking fountains, cleaning of cisterns or elevated tanks, desludging of septic tanks, repairs of toilets and replacement of toilet fixtures, among others, was recently launched.

Manila Water, in cooperation with MWSS, the Department of Health and the Department of Education, has undertaken the improvement of water and sanitation facilities of more than 170 schools.

Recently, it added the following schools to its already-long list of improved school facilities: Pasong Tamo Elementary and High Schools in Tandang Sora, Quezon City; Sta. Cruz Elementary and High Schools in barangay Santa Cruz, Antipolo City; Bagong Nayon Elementary School in Antipolo City, and Rizal Technological University in Pasig City.  

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THROUGH its “Kabuhayan Para sa Barangay” (KPSB) program, Manila Water recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Lupang Arienda Muslim-Christian Development Cooperative (Lupa-MCDC) for a capacity-building and livelihood program for the cooperative.

The Lupa-MCDC will fabricate metal A-fram sign holders for Manila Water’s pipelaying projects and excavation works. An initial purchase order of 500 units was issued to the cooperative during the MOA signing.

Launched in 2005, the KPSB program already has three cooperatives for partners. Manila Water has issued more than P18 million worth of purchase orders to these cooperatives.

Vex Populi

Hand in hand with the dwindling supply of power and water is the proliferation of people, the population “explosion” (2.36-percent increase for this year) that the National Statistics Office (NSO) has warned us about—a case of plenitude in the midst of penury. A far cry from the zero growth rate (2 percent) of 1991, obviously the result of the martial law politely termed “family-planning program.”

Going beyond business

TO gain trust of people, practice what you preach.

This is what Manila Water Co. Inc. president Antonino T. Aquino has been doing in the past 10 years, since taking the helm of leadership of the Ayala-owned water firm servicing the east zone of urban Metro Manila.

Manila Water and communities: Some recent projects

COVERAGE of its water sampling and testing operations has been expanded to include several towns in Rizal province within its service grid.

Regarding Mark Jimenez

The view from Mark Jimenez’s penthouse is one of a kind: neat rows of the white crosses in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Bonifacio Global City. Inside, crystal vases with fresh flowers are everywhere. There is an old Austrian piano that nobody knows how to play in the living room. There are photos of his family.

Five books that will amplify your ability to lead through influence

Leaders shape the future; they set strategic goals and guide their organizations toward attaining them. But they are powerless without others’ cooperation. Here are five books that will hone your ability to lead through influence.

The Cost of Myopic Management

Under pressure to hit immediate performance targets, many managers inflate earnings, often by cutting expenditures. In a recent survey of 401 top financial executives, 80 percent said they would decrease spending on “discretionary” activities like marketing and research and development to meet short-term goals.

Tattoo you

Last year Justin Miloro had to wear long sleeves to conceal the Buddha curling around his left forearm and the yellow-orange sun rays on his right. Pants covered the depiction of Earth on one leg and wings on the other.

From WOM to www

FOR years, small businesses have relied on the magic of WOM (word of mouth) to attract customers. Yet, with young Filipinos lately turning into entrepreneurs, too many small companies are creating too much buzz that customers now find it hard to tell apart the best from the bluff.

Winning: AVOIDING THE REVERSE-HOSTAGE SYNDROME

Q: Why do so many companies not address cross-cultural differences in a merger until it’s too late? Karen Fenner, Camden, New Jersey

A: Because you can’t number-crunch culture. And financial analysis is almost always where merger evaluations begin, along with some level of strategic analysis.

The monarchical tradition

Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of personally delivering the president’s report to Congress that was inaugurated by George Washington, the first president, on January 8, 1790, in New York, the capital of the new nation until 1801. But since the US Constitution required a president to report to Congress, Jefferson wrote his message and had it read by a clerk.

The future of San Miguel

‘We’ve done preliminary studies, going so far as to hire an independent adviser to shortlist for us attractive industries in which we might choose to participate, industries like mining, power, infrastructure, water, other utilities and property.’

Seeing the World

We can state, quite categorically, that we are living in very demanding times. Our planet is under stress. Our country confronts serious challenges. Our communities are in search of real solutions to age-old problems.

The hidden good news about CEO dismissals

Worldwide, boards of large corporations are dismissing four times more CEOs today than in 1995, a trend that raises an important question: Are boards undermining the chief executive’s ability to lead for the long term?

Overcoming resistance to change

There are a few in every bunch: the naysayers, the predictors of disaster, the ones who dig in their heels and fight you at every turn. What would a change initiative be without them?

From Small to Big Screen

Jim Libiran is not your regular commercial filmmaker and screenwriter who has a standard formula for a box-office hit and makes use of predictable plots and cliché lines.

‘Just do it’

IMAGINE a situation where killings and disappearances are taking place. The victims form a distinct and disliked, though by no means unpopular political grouping. In fact, they have the most populist agenda of any other.

Leadership that focuses on the customer–really

Many executives and managers exhort their followers to make the customer the center of everything they do. Yet for all the passion and conviction of their words, genuine customer focus remains theory rather than practice in their organizations.

Forward-Thinking Cultures

It’s hard to manage any organization so that its long-term interests aren’t sacrificed to short-term expedience. But there is an added wrinkle for organizations whose operations are globally dispersed: cultural orientation toward the future varies widely the world over.

Book Keeper

The life of National Book Store founder Socorro C. Ramos should serve as an inspiration to the younger generation on how to hurdle the numerous challenges thrown our way. Her success, not just in business but in all aspects of life, stresses the importance of focus, dedication, hard work, education and other important values.

It takes a village to raise a child

Aldo, 5, did not mean to trap his mother when he asked her if God made everything, to which she answered, naturally, “Yes, He did.”

“Why did He make the poor?”

What is your company’s ‘signature’ experience?

Your company’s signature experience exemplifies what you do especially well; it’s the odd or unique process that makes your company stand out in people’s minds. Developing a signature experience and communicating it to job candidates can help you streamline your hiring process. It also helps you build an unusually engaged, excited and committed work force.

Strategy: private equity’s long view

What can the gods of private equity (PE) teach us about managing for the long term? If you think that their lightning reflex, do-what-it-takes approach has nothing to tell us about the long haul, you’d be wrong.

Wrapped up

Having fun and making money are two things that Rommel Juan can mix quite easily.