Metro Dumaguete Water Wins Bronze International Award

Metro Dumaguete Water Laboratory’s program “Safe water for All”, which aids disaster-vulnerable communities in Negros Oriental, received a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Innovative Achievement in Health and Safety Excellence category at the 13th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards.

MACAU, CHINA – The “Safe Water for All” Campaign of Metro Dumaguete Water (MDW) has won a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Innovative Achievement in Health and Safety Excellence category at the 13th annual Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards held last April 17 in Macau, China.

The campaign was launched to support disaster-vulnerable communities in Negros Oriental in preventing water-related health risks by promoting safe water practices and access. The program was implemented by MDW together with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority - Negros Oriental, Provincial Health Office, Department of Health - Negros Island Region, and the LGUs of Dumaguete, Manjuyod, and Canlaon.

Judges of the prestigious international awards program cited the campaign’s collaborative effort as a good model for emergencies which can be used by many different groups. The submitted case study of the Safe Water for All campaign was deemed exemplary out of more than 1,000 nominations from organizations across the Asia-Pacific region that were considered this year.

The program helped equip around 150 local health workers, disaster-responders, and community leaders with skills in water sampling, contamination prevention, water treatment, and prevention of waterborne diseases. Its recent implementation was at Canlaon City during the onset of the volcanic activity that has severely affected water quality in the area.

The MDW Laboratory, the most advanced water laboratory in the province, leveraged its technical capacity to extend critical water quality expertise in the implementation of the program. The initiative reinforces MDW’s mission of ensuring safe water access and contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards is the only business awards program to recognize innovation in the workplace in all 29 markets of the Asia-Pacific region. The Stevie Awards is widely considered to be the world's premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programs such as The International Business Awards® for 24 years. In 2025, MDW also won a Silver Stevie under the Sustainability: Saving Energy Category for its case study on “Producing More Water with Less Power”.

About Metro Dumaguete Water
Metro Dumaguete Water is the joint venture company of the Dumaguete City Water District and Metro Pacific Water, a subsidiary of the Metro Pacific Investment Corporation. It commenced its operations of the City’s water system in February 2021.

About the Stevie® Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in nine programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East C North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales C Customer Service, the new Stevie Awards for Technology Excellence, and the Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations and territories. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognizes outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at https://www.StevieAwards.com.

Sponsors and partners of the 2026 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards include adobo Magazine and PR Newswire Asia.

The international award-winning program was implemented by the Metro Dumaguete Water Laboratory to support SDG 6: Access to safe water and aid community health workers. Its first run was in coordination with the Dumaguete City Health Office to train its Barangay Health Workers.

The Safe Water for All Campaign boasts of its collaborative approach, zeroing in on technical expertise, data benchmark, and grassroots implementation. Key partners include the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Provincial Health Office (PHO), Department of Health (DOH), and the Local Government Units (LGUs).

The program sought to train community health workers and disaster responders. The award-winning Safe Water for All campaign promotes the importance of water quality testing and enhances accuracy of assessments by training water sample collectors on proper handling, contamination avoidance, and standard collection procedures.