STOP ILLEGAL CONNECTION. Engr. John Cañonero, Metro Pacific Iloilo Water head of the commercial division, presents TAPnaon (stop) ang Illegal Connection program as a strategy to address illegal connections in their service areas during the launching at their office in Mandurriao district on Tuesday (July 4, 2023). The program provides an incentive of up to PHP3,000 for each confirmed illegal connection. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – Water distribution utility Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW) launched on Tuesday the TAPnaon (stop) ang Illegal Connection (TAPIC) program that encourages stakeholders to report illegal tapping of residential and commercial firms to address illegal connections, reduce non-revenue water (NRW), and provide more water to its consumers.
“We implement this program to recover our lost water. We lack supply and almost 50 percent goes to waste. So part of the commercial losses is the illegal connections,” said Engr. John Cañonero, MPIW head of the commercial division in a media conference.
He said that the TAPIC program provides a cash incentive to anyone who will provide information about a confirmed illegal connection.
Upon confirmation, the informant will receive an initial PHP500 and an additional PHP2,500 once the penalties are paid and the illegal connection is legitimized.
“We have a hotline number. We will not divulge the name (of the informant), it is confidential,” he said.
He added that there is no prosecution because the aim is to legitimize illegal connections.
Based on historical data since they start operating in 2019, Cañonero said that more than 50 have already availed of legitimate connections and paid their arrears.
TAPIC will run until the end of July but depending on the result, they may consider extending the program.
Cañonero said commercial losses account for 30 percent of their NRW; around 25 percent is due to water pilferage.
The losses are equivalent to around 7,000 million liters per day.
MPIW can produce an average water supply of 70 million to 75 million liters per day depending on the processes.
“This can help in recovering lost water and will help further reduce our non-revenue water percentage,” he added.
The level of NRW, which consists of physical losses and commercial losses, is currently at 48 percent.
MPIW provides water to Iloilo City and seven municipalities of the province namely Maasin, Cabatuan, Sta. Barbara, Pavia, San Miguel, Oton and Leganes. (PNA)
