Written Hendra Gupta
On January 30, 2024, the Global Water Solution Inc. (GWSI) hosted a successful webinar event on “Improving Sanitation Programs in the Philippines”. The event marked the 20th anniversary of the Clean Water Act (RA9275), which aimed to protect the country’s water resources and promote wastewater management. The webinar event attracted nearly 350 participants from various sectors and regions, including official and staff of LWUA and NWRB, water districts (WDs) and other water service providers (WSPs), local government units, subdivision developers, and representatives from national agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Health, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Watch the webinar event here.
The webinar featured a presentation by Mr. Jay Tecson, GWSI President and Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist, on Overview of the Sanitation Sector and Current Sectoral Reform, Mr. Antonio Garcia, former Vice-President for Wastewater Management Division of Maynilad Water Services, Inc., on the technical approaches to wastewater treatment, Ir. Mohd. Taufik Bin Salleh, the General Manager of Indah Water Konsortium Sdn. Bhd. on “The Case of Pantai 2 Sewage treatment Plant of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia”, Mr. Hendra Gupta, a urban sanitation development specialist from the Global Water & Sanitation Center (GWSC), on the concept and application of Citywide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) in the context of secondary cities, Mr. Gilbert Garchitorena, Senior Finance Specialist of GWSI, and Mr. Maurice Tobon, Senior Resiliency Expert and GWSI Director-Technology and Innovations.
Mr. Hendra Gupta presented the concept and application of CWIS, a public service approach that aims to advance equitable, safe, and sustainable outcomes by strengthening core public system functions and ensuring services reach women, girls, and low-income communities. He also discussed the challenges and opportunities of secondary cities, which are urban hubs that fill specific regional and local needs and are growing rapidly, especially in Africa and Asia. He shared some examples of CWIS introduction from Cambodia and Lao PDR and other countries, and provided some recommendations and tips for WDs and WSPs to adopt CWIS in their own contexts. The successful webinar concluded with a lively Q&A session, where the participants asked various questions and shared their feedback and experiences on sanitation and wastewater management.
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