Manila Water exec mum on possible termination of concession contracts

Manila Water Company, Inc. President and CEO Ferdinand dela Cruz.INQUIRER file photo / Jam Sta. Rosa

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water Company, Inc. President Ferdinand dela Cruz on Wednesday did not comment on the possible termination of the company’s concessionaires’ contracts but said he is willing to resign from his post if this would solve the water crisis.

“I have to go,” was Dela Cruz’s response when asked about President Rodrigo Duterte’s order for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to submit a report before April 7, so he could “decide whether heads will roll or whether the contracts of the concessionaires will be terminated.”

READ: Outraged’ Duterte threatens to fire MWSS execs | Lawmakers ask Duterte to fire MWSS execs

The Manila Water official also pointed out that the instructions of the President were “very loud and clear,” and their firm is “taking them seriously.”

“I think the instructions of the President is very clear, we have to fix this, we have to recover from this, and to make sure that this doesn’t happen again, we’re taking that seriously, on two fronts in terms of our service recovery we already have a 90 to 95 percent service restoration, which we now define as at least 8 to 12 hours of water at the ground floor in many areas,” Dela Cruz added.

But during the hearing of the House public accounts committee, Dela Cruz said he would be “extremely happy to resign” if this would address the water supply deficit and would fast-track construction of new water sources.

“Mr. chairman, if my resignation today will not only erase our supply deficit but also result to a united front to urgently build new water sources, then I would be extremely happy to resign at this very moment,” he said.

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said resigning was the “minimum he can do” because of the water service interruption since March 6.

READ: Solon: MWSS getting at least P1B from Manila Water, Maynilad yearly

Dela Cruz repeatedly attributed their water supply deficit to the critical level of the La Mesa Reserve, which prevented the concessionaire from getting 150 million liters per day (MLD) of water from it.

READ: No relief yet: La Mesa water level keeps dropping

“Without this additional 150 million liters per day of untreated water from the La Mesa Reserve, we cannot fully serve the peak demand, at sufficient pressure, of your constituents,” he said. /jpv

READ: Manila Water: Over 93% of NCR’s East Zone now gets regular supply