Hiraya sets 2026 deadline for Tayabas pipe replacement after Lim-Co talks

By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino Tayabas City Mayor Anthony “Piwa” Lim, joined by other city officials, meets businessman Lucio Co and Hiraya...

By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino

Tayabas City Mayor Anthony “Piwa” Lim, joined by other city officials, meets businessman Lucio Co and Hiraya Water representatives recently to discuss the city’s persistent water supply problems and planned service improvements.

TAYABAS CITY, Quezon — Hiraya Water Corporation has recently set a 2026 completion target for ongoing pipeline replacement in Tayabas City as residents continue to face interrupted supply, weak pressure and limited water availability. The timetable is the first specific completion target publicly announced following Mayor Anthony “Piwa” Lim’s meeting with businessman Lucio Co over the city’s persistent water problems.

Three days after the August 15 Lim-Co meeting, representatives of Hiraya and its contractor met Lim at City Hall on August 18 to discuss the continuing pipeline work. The city government said the parties affirmed an agreement to complete the ongoing replacement of water pipes within 2026.



FBV Waterworks and General Services, led by Feda Velasco, is the contractor tapped by Hiraya for the Tayabas works. Velasco met Lim together with Hiraya Area Head Christina Lipa and Branch Manager Engr. Aries Resurrecion.

The new deadline provides a timetable that was absent from the initial announcement on Lim’s meeting with Co. The August 18 update, however, did not state the project cost, total length of pipes covered, complete barangay coverage or target service hours after completion.

Lim had already pressed PrimeWater and the Quezon Metropolitan Water District over mounting complaints before the utility changed its name to Hiraya. In June, he sent a final demand seeking a clear plan to restore adequate and reliable water service after repeated meetings failed to end supply problems.

Faced with continued interruptions despite earlier discussions with the provider, Lim stressed that City Hall would continue pressing the utility even though it does not operate the water system. City Hall maintained that responsibility for operating and improving the system remained with the water provider.

“Hindi tayo bahagi ng operasyon ng PrimeWater. Ngunit hindi tayo titigil hangga’t hindi nagkakaroon ng sapat at maayos na serbisyo ng tubig para sa bawat Tayabasin,” Lim said.

As residents continued paying water bills despite recurring supply problems, Lim also warned that the existing level of service could not continue. He said consumers were entitled to adequate and dependable water from the provider.

“Hindi maaaring magpatuloy ang sitwasyong ito. Ang mga Tayabasin ay nagbabayad para sa serbisyo at karapat-dapat lamang na makatanggap ng sapat, maayos, at maaasahang suplay ng tubig,” Lim said.

Hiraya inherited the water system after Crystal Bridges Holding Corp., associated with the Co family, took control of PrimeWater and began a broader rehabilitation program. The new management announced more than P6.7 billion for the initial phase of improvements across the former PrimeWater network nationwide.

As the new management began addressing service deficiencies across the systems it acquired, Hiraya Water President Jose Paulino “JP” Santamarina acknowledged the urgency of restoring reliable supply. He said the company was deploying resources while assessments and infrastructure work continued.

“We understand the urgency of providing communities with access to clean and reliable water,” Santamarina said. “We are working at full capacity to address existing issues as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Hiraya also inherited unfinished infrastructure obligations under the joint venture between the former PrimeWater operation and QMWD. QMWD General Manager Carina De Asis earlier reported that more than P300 million had been delivered from a P1-billion project commitment under the first phase of the agreement.

The distribution network has recorded substantial water losses and limited replacement of old pipelines. Earlier QMWD figures placed water losses at about 42 percent, while only 6 percent of roughly 524 kilometers of pipelines serving Lucena, Tayabas and Pagbilao had been replaced or rehabilitated.

Pipeline replacement had already been undertaken in parts of Tayabas before the latest agreement on the completion deadline. Earlier reports identified Muntingbayan, Lovely, Mateuna and Tuazon among the areas where replacement work was being carried out to address deteriorating lines and water losses.

In neighboring Lucena City, Hiraya announced a P500-million package covering 14 waterworks projects, including new sources and replacement of aging distribution lines. The program carries targets for longer water availability and improved pressure that have not been separately announced for Tayabas.

One component is the rehabilitation of the 4,250-cubic-meter Tongko Reservoir located in Tayabas City, together with construction of a bypass line. Hiraya said the reservoir work covers distribution improvements for 17 barangays in Lucena, where water availability in affected areas is targeted to increase from as little as zero to six hours daily to around 12 hours.

With extensive work still under way across former PrimeWater systems, Santamarina asked consumers for patience while the company addressed accumulated infrastructure problems. He also linked the work to restoring public confidence in the water provider.

“Hinihingi po namin ang inyong kaunting pasensya at pang-unawa habang isa-isa naming inaayos ang mga kailangang ayusin. Hangad namin ay hindi lamang maghatid ng mas maayos na serbisyo ng tubig, kundi maibalik din ang tiwala ng bawat komunidad na aming pinaglilingkuran,” Santamarina said.

The August 18 agreement places the ongoing Tayabas pipeline replacement under a stated completion target within 2026. City Hall’s latest announcement did not provide a corresponding date for round-the-clock water service or quantify the additional supply expected after the pipe work is completed.