House to probe PrimeWater, local water district

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Makabayan party-list bloc filed a resolution on Tuesday, May 6, urging an investigation on the joint venture agreements between Villar-owned utility firm PrimeWater and local water districts over poor supply and service.

House Resolution 2279, filed by Gabriela Women’s Rep. Arlene Brosas, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, directed the government enterprises and privatization committee to launch the probe.

The filing stems from consumer complaints of unadvised water interruption and weak water flow despite high rates.

“Ang nangyayari naman pala ay kailangan pa nilang mag-sacrifice ng tulog para lang bantayan ‘yung maayos na flow ng tubig para makapag-ipon sila ng tubig. ‘Di ito deserve ng ating mga kababayan,” Manuel said in a chance interview.

[Translation: What happens is consumers have to sacrifice their sleep to wait for a consistent water flow and fill up drums. Our fellow Filipinos do not deserve this.]

End privatization

Manuel and Brosas joined other groups along EDSA in Mandaluyong to protest PrimeWater’s service on Tuesday morning.

They called for an end to water privatization.

“‘Wag na nating tawaging privatization. Tawagin na nating Villarization sapagkat malinaw na ang pangangamkam ng mga water districts ay isang paglabag sa karapatan ng ordinaryong mamamayan sa usapin ng tubig,” former Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said.

[Translation: Let us not call it privatization, but Villarization. It is clear that acquiring water districts is a violation of ordinary citizens’ right to water.]

“Ngayon, ‘yung lola, matanda na nga, nahihirapan pa hong mag-ipon ng isang balde ng tubig. Nagdadagdag pa ito sa problema sa usapin ng kalusugan ng mamamayan dahil napupuyat sila,” shared Mimi Doringo, militant group Kadamay’s national secretary general.

[Translation: There is a grandmother, already old yet burdened by saving a bucket of water. It is an additional health problem for the people because they get restless.]

More expenses

Marjune Decendario, a PrimeWater consumer in Bulacan, lamented their monthly billing amid water interruptions.

He said their monthly bill before did not reach ₱1,000. But in the recent months, it spiked to ₱1,800 to ₱2,000.

On top of the high cost, Decendario said he is forced to shell out more to buy mineral water when service is interrupted. He spends as much as ₱400 for water refill a month.

“Biruin mo pinangliligo namin, pinanghuhugas ng plato namin mineral water,” he told NewsWatch Plus.

[Translation: Imagine, we use mineral water for bathing and washing plates.]

Aside from financial burden, Decendario said his job as a transportation network vehicle service driver has been affected.

“Imbes na deretso ang byahe ko, uuwi ako ng bahay kasi nga kukuha ako ng tubig, ikakarga ko sa sasakyan ko para may magamit sa bahay. Laking abala ‘di ba?” he said.

[Translation: Instead of going on the road to get passengers, I have to buy water and load it on my vehicle for us to use at home. It is a huge bother.]

House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun earlier said he will file a measure to look into operations of PrimeWater, owned by the family of business tycoon and former Senator Manny Villar.

The Local Water Utilities Administration began investigating PrimeWater on the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.