By Mike Baños
Residents of Sitio NHA and nearby areas in Barangay Busay, Cebu City, have been celebrating a major milestone – access to reliable potable water, thanks to JE Hydro & Bio- Energy Corporation! After over 30 years of living without a steady water source, the community can now breathe a sigh of relief.
The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) started supplying safe and potable water since December 23, 2025 with the commissioning of the distribution system made possible by JE Hydro’s long-term Bulk Water Supply Agreement signed in March 2021.
“My dream is to bring safe drinking water to millions of households in the Philippines,” said Engr. Joffrey E. Hapitan, Chairman and CEO of the trail blazing company. “ And my mission is to bring down the cost of drinking water from its current price of One Peso per Liter (P1.00) to Five Centavos per Liter (P0.05). I am committed to pursue my mission of providing access to safe drinking water to our countrymen which I believe is a fundamental human right.”
Gifted with impeccable business acumen, charisma, and boundless knowledge and technical expertise, Hapitan disrupted the landscape of the Philippine water industry in a span of just 13 years, with JE Hydro’s 20 completed water treatment facilities producing a total volume of 206.5 million liters per day.
With the desire to improve the lives of millions of Filipinos as his north star, and believing that access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right, Hapitan established JE Hydro in 2011 to provide a holistic approach to solving the water crisis in the country. These include the design, build, operation and maintenance of water treatment facilities, pipe laying, and water distribution operations supported by proprietary home-grown technologies.
In 2022, he completed his P1.2 billion legacy project, the 30 MLD (million liters per day) Water Treatment Facility in Barangay Lusaran in Cebu City, commissioned after just 150 days which supplies much needed bulk water to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
“Our methodology employs the latest state-of-the-art technology in water resources engineering and hydrological studies, pipeline and ortho-mapping surveys, pipe network hydraulic modelling & analyses, detailed engineering design, and proven home-grown water treatment process that meets the standards of the 2017 Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSW),” Hapitan said.
The JE Hydro facility in Brgy. Lusaran boasts an impressive capacity of 30,000 cubic meters per day, enough to serve 60,000 households! This game-changer brings an end to years of hardship and dependence to the 330 households under the Busay Heights Home Owners Association (BHOA), most of who previously relied on daily water deliveries from the Department of Public Services (DPS)
Mayor Nestor Archival highlighted the impact of MCWD – JE Hydro project: “This brings immediate relief to families who’ve long suffered from limited access to water.”
Archival personally inspected the newly installed MCWD stub-out connections which are now serving at least 240 residents in the area.
The inspection highlighted the City Government’s efforts to bring basic services to upland barangays that have long been underserved.
The project officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony last September attended by Archival and MCWD officials led by general manager Edgar Donoso.
The ceremony signaled the City Government’s commitment to address the long-standing water supply problem of residents living in elevated and hard-to-reach communities such as Sitio NHA.
According to the MCWD, a total of 12 stub-out connections have already been installed in Sitio NHA and its adjacent areas supplying residents with water after decades of relying on limited and unreliable sources. Another six stub-outs are also targeted for installation by this month.
Once completed, these additional connections aim to reach120 more residents, including families residing in a nearby relocation site.
For the residents of Sitio NHA and surrounding areas, the availability of a stable water supply marks the end of years of hardship caused by the absence of dependable access to water.
Donoso said the MCWD will extend water service to the surrounding sitios and even to the most remote areas, once the initial connections are in place.
Residents expressed relief and gratitude as water finally flowed into their community after decades of waiting, describing the development as a long-overdue improvement that will significantly ease daily life and improve overall living conditions in the upland barangay.
