The Manila Water Company has been hailed as the best Philippine employer and grand recipient of the Asian Human Capital Award in Singapore for its outstanding practices in human resource development and management.
The Ayala-led firm became the only Philippine company to have earned the award, which was given to organizations that had successfully utilized innovative, high-impact people practices while keeping these aligned with business strategies and attuned to local needs.
“We are deeply honored for the prestigious distinction the Asian Human Capital Award has bestowed on us (and) for giving us the privilege to share our story with the rest of the world through this rare honor,” Manila Water president and chief executive officer Gerardo Ablaza Jr. said Thursday.
Ablaza personally accepted the trophy that was designed and created by renowned Singaporean sculptor Chua Boon Kee. The award was presented by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower and cosponsored by CNBC (Asia-Pacific) and INSEAD, one of the world’s leading business schools.
The achievement elevated Manila Water to the ranks of previous grand awardees like Procter & Gamble, Ritz Carlton Singapore and Accenture Services India.
Manila Water took over half of the service area previously served by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in 1997.
In a statement, the company recalled that it absorbed more than 2,000 former employees of what was then a much-maligned government agency.
To ensure that the employees excelled under the new, privatized setup, Manila Water provided them with technical and managerial training while fostering “a culture of merit based on performance and integrity,” the company said.
As of 2010, Manila Water had been serving almost 1.2 million households, almost four times the 325,000 served at turnover point in 1997. Its 24-hour service coverage shot up to 99 percent from a measly 26 percent during the same period.
Systems losses were down to 11 percent as of the end of 2010, from a staggering 63 percent in 1997. In terms of revenues, the company reported more than a billion pesos in gains year-to-year at P8.33 billion and a P4-million net income in 2010.
The company said its services reach the homes of some 1.7 million people in low-income communities.
In 2006, Manila Water was also adjudged “Outstanding Employer of the Year” by the People Management Association of the Philippines.
In 2010, it also earned the Hall of Fame Award from the Department of Trade and Industry for its “consistency and passion” in programs relating to labor-management cooperation, quality and productivity improvement, and family welfare and community relations.
It was also the only company in the Philippines to have produced eight recipients of The Outstanding Workers of the Republic or TOWER Awards.