Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume IV, Number 18 June 6 - 12, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
Public
Warned: Brace for Higher Water Rates, Poorer Services The
broad-based Water for the People Network has warned the public, particularly
Maynilad’s customers, to brace for higher water rates and poorer services from
the water firm as the approval of Amendment No. 2 to its Concession Agreement
with the MWSS nears. The Water for the People Network also called on the general
public to pressure the government to reject the agreement. BY
BULATLAT.COM The Water for the People Network, a broad alliance of cause-oriented groups and community organizations advocating public control over water resources, has warned customers of the Lopez-owned Maynilad Water Services, Inc. to prepare for higher water rates and poorer services from the water company, in anticipation of the impending approval of Amendment No. 2 to its Concession Agreement with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). Branch
90 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC), which has jurisdiction over
Maynilad’s petition for corporate rehabilitation, held its last hearing last
June 1. Reynaldo Daway, presiding
judge of Branch 90, is just waiting for the approval of the board of the
National Economic and Development Authority of Amendment No. 2 before ruling on
the petition. Amendment
No. 2 provides that the government would write off and shoulder the water
firm’s financial obligations in exchange for its “reorganization and
rehabilitation.” Under Clause 4.1 of the amendment, Maynilad would implement
an increase of P5.65 ($0.10 based on a $1:P56 exchange rate) per cubic meter in
its average basic rate, and P6.83 ($0.12) per cubic meter in its total average
tariff. Maynilad
acquired the concession to the MWSS West Zone service area in 1996, when the
government privatized its water services. Contrary to the government’s
promises of lower water rates, Maynilad’s customers saw their water bills
increase by more than 200 percent since 1996. Fifty
percent of Maynilad’s service area does not have 24-hour access to water,
according to Arnold Padilla, IBON Foundation’s advocacy specialist on water.
IBON Foundation, an independent socio-economic think tank, is a member of the
Water for the People Network. In
a statement e-mailed over the weekend to Bulatlat.com, the Water for the
People network said: “We believe that the NEDA (National Economic and
Development Authority) board’s approval of Amendment No. 2 is already a done
deal since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who has publicly defended the
MWSS-Maynilad agreement, heads the said government body. A shrewd political
player, President Arroyo simply waited for the proper timing (e.g. after the May
10 elections) to approve the Maynilad bailout, which became a highly contentious
issue during the height of the campaign.” The
Water for the People Network also called on the general public to increase
pressure on the government to reject the agreement. For its part, the Water for
the People Network said: “Aside from organizing mass actions in the coming
days, our group would file the necessary case to the proper court to stop the
deal and hold accountable certain government officials.” “We
reiterate our position that the MWSS-Maynilad compromise settlement is
disadvantageous to the national government and would undermine public interest.
The only favorable solution is for the government to terminate its Concession
Agreement with Maynilad, and oblige the water firm to answer all its obligations
to government and its customers,” the Water for the People Network asserted. The Water for the People Network argued that “the mess created by Maynilad has exposed what is wrong with putting an essential public service into private hands.” The network also called on the government to “seriously rethink and reverse” its policy of water privatization. Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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