Solon rebuffs rate hike warning of water firms due to concession extension recall

MANILA, Philippines — Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza on Thursday brushed aside the warnings of water concessionaires that water rate may increase by 100 percent because of the cancellation of their concession agreement’s extension.

Officials of Manila Water and Maynilad had warned that water rates may increase by over 100 percent after the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) canceled the 15-year extension of their concessions.

The agreements would end in 2037 but due to the revocation, these will expire on 2022.

Atienza said he does not believe whatever the water firms’ are saying as “they speak with forked tongues” and had previously lied to the Philippine government.

“I am not willing to argue with them because they speak with forked tongues, hindi nagsasabi ng totoo eh. Kung ano sinasabi nila ngayon, hindi na ako naniniwala,” he said in a forum in Quezon City.

“Once upon a time, binola na nila ako. Binola na nila pati presidente pa nga eh. Ngayon ito na naman sinasabi. Mananakot pa, manakot ka sa loob ng bilangguan as far as I’m concerned,” Atienza added.

He believed that the cancellation of their concessions’ were “long time coming” since their contracts were obtained under “very doubtful” situations.

Atienza added that those involved in the drafting of their contracts must answer for the “onerous” provisions.

“Dapat mademanda yung may kinalaman. Magdusa naman sila, managot naman sila sa batas,” he said.

Manila Water and Maynilad distribute water in Metro Manila and parts of Cavite and Rizal provinces under agreements signed with MWSS in 1997.

During a joint House hearing on Wednesday, the MWSS announced that it canceled the extension of Manila Water and Maynilad’s concession agreements.

This development came after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to sue the water firms of economic sabotage last week over their alleged “onerous” concession agreements.

The President also ordered Solicitor General Jose Calida and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III to come up with a new water concession contract that is favorable to the public and the government.

Duterte’s ire arose after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Singapore ordered the Philippine government to pay Manila Water Co. P7.39 billion for losses incurred due to the non-implementation of rate hikes.

Meanwhile, Maynilad won its own case in 2017 in the arbitration court, which directed the government to pay it P3.4 billion.

However, the water concessionaires said they would no longer seek to collect from the government close to P11 billion that the Singapore arbitration court had awarded to them. #