‘Go out, be my guest’: Duterte not afraid rants vs water firms will turn off investors

MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte doesn’t mind losing foreign investors after his attacks on Maynilad and Manila Water over the alleged “onerous” water concession deals, stressing that he is only looking for “justice” for Filipino people.

“The thought that they will be getting out of the Philippines, (it’s) fine. Go out, be my guest,” Duterte said in an interview over ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol.

“I will not be intimidated or even fear the possibility of a reduced investment in the country. What I’m after for is justice for Filipino people.”

Manila Water and Maynilad supply water to Metro Manila and nearby provinces under 25-year concession deals signed in 1997, but Duterte previously ordered the government lawyers to craft new concession deals after labeling the current agreements with the two water firms as “onerous and disadvantageous” to Filipinos.

He also threatened to jail and file economic sabotage cases against officials and owners of Metro Manila’s water concessionaires.

Following Duterte’s rants, the water firms’ stocks fell and eventually agreed to waive P10.8 billion compensation from the government that an international arbitration court had awarded to them for foregone revenue from higher rates they were unable to implement.