On 27 February 2023, the MWSS Regulatory Office (RO), headed by Chief Regulator Patrick Lester N. Ty, hosted a benchmarking visit of high-level officials from the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, UN-Habitat, UNICEF Bangladesh, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and WaterLinks. The Government of Nepal’s Ministry of Water Supply Secretary Mani Ram Gelal led the delegation.
MWSS RO Deputy Administrator for Customer Service Regulation Lee Robert M. Britanico, Deputy Administrator for Administration and Legal Affairs Claudine B. Orocio-Isorena, Deputy Administrator for Technical Regulation Evelyn B. Agustin, Acting Deputy Administrator for Financial Regulation Christopher D. Chuegan, Department Manager for Public Information Joan Michelle S. Antonio, and Department Manager for Financial Audit and Asset Monitoring Joriel B. Dagsa joined in the knowledge exchange.
The Nepal delegation was composed of Ministry of Water Supply Joint Secretary Tiresh Prasad Khatri, Under Secretary (Legal) Bashista Kumar Ghimire, and Senior WASH Advisor Suman Prasad Sharma; Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management Director General Ramakanta Duwadi; Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board Executive Director Sanjeev Bickram Rana; and Birendranagar Municipality Mayor Mohan Maya Bhandari. Also present during the high-level meeting were UN Habitat Professional Officer Sudha Shrestha, UNICEF Bangladesh WASH Officer Syed Adnan Ibna Hakim, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Senior Advisor Neelima Thota.
Meanwhile, Chairman Arjun Thapan, Executive Director Mai Flor, Consultant Sanjaya Adhikary, Senior WOP Coordinator Yolanda Gomez, and Programs/Outreach Coordinator Patricia Policar represented WaterLinks – the non-profit organization who facilitated the visit.
During the meeting, Deputy Administrator Britanico gave an overview of the institutional mandate and functions of the MWSS RO, while Department Manager Dagsa explained the Rate Rebasing process of the MWSS RO.
Check out other international and local stakeholder engagements of the MWSS RO: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.339871998166742…
For more information about the MWSS RO, visit our website at https://ro.mwss.gov.ph
