To give residential water service applicants ease in processing applications, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) will now require them only to go straight to the One-Stop Shop at the MCWD Main Building to start the process.
This means new water service applicants will no longer be required to attend the orientation seminar held every Wednesday and Saturday as part of the requirements for application for water service connection starting August 5.
“For years, MCWD provided the additional service of giving a seminar orientation to guide our future consumers on the application process and to inform them of their rights and obligations as water consumers,” said MCWD Acting General Manager Noel Dalena.
But with available technologies that consumers can access now, information given during the seminar orientation will be available through MCWD’s website www.mcwd.gov.ph through CDs or email and through a Customer Handbook, said MCWD Customer Services Group Head Ma. Rowan Tenedo.
The information provided will include application and installation policies, meter reading and billing policies, payment and collection policies, disconnection, reconnection and reopening policies and other policies deemed useful by all MCWD consumers.
However, with public service as its priority, MCWD will still give offsite orientation seminars to those who will request for one, like homeowner associations, barangays and other groups of individuals who would like to apply as a group.
MCWD’s One-Stop Shop is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays to Fridays, and is located at the ground floor of the main building on Magallanes corner Lapu-Lapu Sts., Cebu City.
Applicants may send representatives to MCWD and secure the application forms and list of requirements. However, all forms related to the application for water service connection need to be signed by the account owner.
Early this year, MCWD also eased the application process for commercial accounts by not requiring their representatives to attend the orientation seminar.
Applicants for commercial accounts need only to meet with MCWD’s Marketing personnel at the Service Connection Installation Department, 4th floor, MCWD Main Building to inquire about the process.
70% of Water Bill Transactions Now in Third Party Agents
Due to the convenience it has provided, about 70 percent of Metropolitan Cebu Water District’s (MCWD) monthly water bill transactions are now being done through third party agents (TPAs).
This , as MCWD continues to increase the number of payment centers and collecting banks to remain true to its commitment to provide better services to its consumers.
MCWD Acting General Manager Noel Dalena said the number of transactions in TPAs has been increasing in the last 10 years. From January to June 2017, the transactions averaged 111,284 per month compared to the 47,073 average monthly transactions in the MCWD Main Office on Magallanes corner Lapu-Lapu Streets, Cebu City. This represents 70% and 30%, respectively, of all water bill transactions.
The number of transactions in TPAs during the first half of 2017 has been the highest since 2006. This already totaled 667,704.
In the whole of 2016, a staggering 1.2 million water bill transactions were done in TPAs. It was only 301,532 in 2006.
“Sa 7 Eleven ko magbayad, mas duol, malakaw ra’s amo,” shared by Odilon Igot, a 43 year old consumer of MCWD.
Consequently, the number of transactions in MCWD’s Main Office has been declining every year. From 859,034 in 2006, it has gone down to 608,484 in 2016.
Imelda Chu, MCWD Branches Collection Division Manager, said most of these consumers still prefer to pay at the MCWD Main Office to get their original Official Receipts for filing.
In TPAs, the receipts issued are thermal paper.
In MCWD’s bill, consumers are updated on the amount of the last payment paid. Bill inquiry is also now available through the MCWD website mcwd.gov.ph, through text and by keying in one’s consumer code through landline 254-8434.
MCWD’s payment centers include SM Malls, Gaisano Group, 7 Eleven stores, M. Lhuillier, CIS-Bayad Center, EC Pay Group, City Mall, White Gold, post offices and many more.
(with a report from Umaria Cabahug, CNU intern)
