Manila Water waiving minimum fee good but not enough–Colmenares

Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO / GAB LALU /

MANILA, Philippines — Opposition senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares welcomed Tuesday the move of the Manila Water Company, Inc. to waive the minimum fee in their March billing after it failed to provide uninterrupted water supply to several areas since March 6.

READ: Manila Water waiving minimum charge in April over supply woes | Manila Water: Waiver is ‘extraordinary, one time’

“This is a welcome development but we hope that Manila Water will not think that everything would be forgotten after this,” the Bayan Muna chair and Makabayan senatorial bet said in a statement.

The former Bayan Muna representative also said the water concessionaire should further improve the plugging of their water leakages to lower their system’s loss so that water interruptions would be prevented.

The Manila Water’s move came after Bayan, Bayan Muna and Manila Water customers filed a petition at the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) on Monday to hold Manila Water accountable for the water service interruptions that affected parts of Metro Manila, Rizal, and Cavite.

READ: Penalize Manila Water, petitioners ask MWSS

Manila Water and the MWSS should also “stop pushing for the Kaliwa dam project for it is already exposed as an environmentally dangerous project and funded by a very onerous loan,” according to Colmenares.

READ: Colmenares to question Kaliwa Dam project before SC

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, one of the petitioners against Manila Water, meanwhile said that “while the waiving of the basic charge of Manila Water is a positive start it does not preclude affected customers from still going to court and ask for further redress.”

Aside from the bill waiver, Zarate said the water company should “compensate [for] the damages they caused the consumers and be ordered to stop collecting the rate increase allowed last year by the MWSS.”

Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes for his part said MWSS should not stop from checking the penalties committed by Manila Water under the concession agreement. /jpv