The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) on Wednesday said it decided to partially implement an international court ruling on the water rate of Maynilad Water Services Inc., one of its concessionaires serving Metro Manila and surrounding areas.
MWSS said an international arbitration panel’s decision dated Dec. 29, 2014, ruled that Maynilad may include its corporate income tax in its rates. The court approved an increase of P4.06 per cubic meter (cu m) from the 2012 average basic charge of P30.28 per cu m.
However, with the recent conclusion of a separate arbitration case with Manila Water Co. Inc., which lost its argument for including corporate income tax in its rates, MWSS said it decided to only partially implement the international court’s ruling on Maynilad.
“The regulatory office resolved to implement an adjustment with respect to the other items not related to CIT (corporate income tax),” MWSS said.
The partial implementation translates to an adjustment of P0.64 per cu m or 2.11 percent of its 2012 average basic charge of P30.28 per cu m.
The CIT represents P3.42 per cu m of the P4.06 per cu m tariff adjustment awarded to Maynilad by the appeals panel, MWSS said.
Incorporating the annual inflation adjustment for 2014 and 2015, and the provisional 3.2 percent adjustment in 2013, the average basic charge of Maynilad is estimated to increase by P2 per cu m or 6.39 percent of the prevailing basic charge of P31.25 per cu m.
With the discontinuance of Cera (currency exchange rate adjustment) of P1 per cu m, the adjustment in the average water charge is reduced to a net increase of P1 per cu m on Maynilad’s prevailing rates.
To explain MWSS’s decision to only partially implement the court decision on Maynilad’s case, regulatory office’s chief regulator Joel C. Yu said his office “has the moral and the legal obligation to uniformly apply the general rate setting policy under the concession agreements.”
Maynilad services customers in the West Zone which covers parts of Manila, Pasay, Parañaque, Caloocan, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Valenzuela and parts of Makati and Quezon City, including the municipalities of Navotas and Malabon. Its franchise area also covers Cavite City, and its municipalities of Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario.
Manila Water services customers in the East Zone which covers parts of Makati City and Quezon City, the southeastern parts of Manila, cities of Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina and Rizal province. RC