WATER IS LIFE A firetruck provides Barangka Drive residents in Mandaluyong City their much needed water supply for the day. Service disruptions, as La Mesa Dam’s water level turns critical, have become common in Metro Manila in March. INQUIRER file photo / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water customers severely affected by the service interruptions in March would receive rebates, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Services Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) said on Tuesday.
According to Chief Regulator Patrick Ty, the rebates for severely affected customers — or accounts from barangays which experienced water interruptions for 24 hours for seven or more days — will be subtracted to their water bills starting June.
This development came after regulators have ordered Manila Water Co. Inc. to implement in June a sanctioned rebate related to the supply shortage that started in March.
The chief regulator said Tuesday all active Manila Water accounts as of March 31, will receive rebate for first 10 cubic meters of water consumed in a month — which is P153.93 for a residential customer.
Also, more than 140,000 customers were identified as “severely affected,” and will get an additional rebate of P2,197.94.
Ty said severely affected customers are those who had no water for 24 hours for seven days, whether these are consecutive days or broken.
He said rebates will be credited to customers and can be used for payment of future monthly bills until the rebate amount is used up.
“Every centavo of the P534-million fine imposed against Manila Water will be returned to customers thru the rebate, and the P600-million additional penalty will be used to develop new water resource for the East Zone,” he said.
June’s rebate is on top of the voluntary bill waiver program that Manila Water started to implement in April, and which company officials said was estimated to cost about P500 million.
READ: BREAK: MWSS fines Manila Water for supply shortage
Ty, however, clarified that this rebate is different from the minimum bill waiver that Manila Water imposed upon itself, where the automatic charge for the first 10 cubic meters was also removed from the customers’ April billing. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)
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