Chief water regulator snubs Senate panel hearing
MWSS chair Reynaldo Velasco. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Grace Poe was displeased over the absence of the head of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), as the Senate tackled the government’s revised concession agreements with two of the country’s major water concessionaires.
During the hearing of the Senate public services committee, Poe scolded MWSS officials after MWSS chair Reynaldo Velasco failed to attend the hearing purportedly because of a prior commitment.
Poe pointed out that the country managed to avert a serious water shortage during the last summer only because of the slowdown in business and economic activities, and not because new water supply sources became available.
According to Poe, senators want to be clarified on how the recently revised concession agreements in the grant of a congressional franchise to Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. Inc. will benefit Filipino consumers.
