Poor service merits probe of Maynilad, Manila Water
Credit to Author: THE MANILA TIMES| Date: Sat, 26 Oct 2019 16:13:05 +0000
We support calls to review the contracts that have been awarded to the water utilities Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. Inc. The probe should also cover their regulator, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). But we do not necessarily agree with Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go that the matter be referred to his former boss, Mr. Rodrigo Duterte. Not all of the nation’s problems should land on the President’s desk — at least not yet. For now, the neophyte lawmaker himself can champion the issue at the Senate. At times, the Senate seems to investigate trivial matters only for the sake of senators getting media exposure. But the water shortages of late and the water utilities themselves certainly merit public scrutiny.
Like Senator Go, many were apoplectic over the announcement of the rotational service interruption after the water level at Angat Dam fell below critical level. Earlier this year, households were also inconvenienced with service interruptions that were ineffectively advised to the public beforehand. Actually, those interruptions have become a recurring crisis, particularly during the summer. Ironically, the season that follows brings in typhoons and monsoon rains that trigger flooding and natural disasters.
On top of the poor service, Manila Water alarmed people when it announced that water rates might spike 780 percent after the Supreme Court decided that it and Maynilad had violated the 2004 Clean Water Act. The statement sounded like blackmail. The high court ordered them and MWSS to pay around P2 billion in fines for failing to deliver the sewerage lines that were a condition in winning the utilities’ respective concession bids. Despite the undeliverables, Maynilad and Manila Water had been collecting fees from consumers for sewer treatment services. One estimate says the two utilities may have collected P60 billion for the facilities that they have not yet built, although we expect those firms to contest that figure.
Senator Go should consider convening a summit to discuss our water problem and solicit proposals to effectively resolve it. Delegates there could look at several alternatives, even extreme ones like nationalizing the water distribution services. Only then would it be timely for the senator to see the President, with the best short- and long-term alternatives at hand.
Obvious solution
If that summit were to happen, we hope that people there could review the pros and cons of constructing Kaliwa Dam. Even if it can serve Metro Manila’s growing needs for water, it threatens to exact a heavy toll. The Dumagats would be displaced as their ancestral lands are flooded; so, too, would many other Filipinos. Plus, part of the already diminished Sierra Madre and home of the Philippine Eagle would be destroyed. We doubt that Kaliwa is worth the price.
Instead, the government should look at the more obvious source — Laguna de Bay. It is already being tapped for drinking water, but it has the potential to supply even more.
Of course, much work needs to be done before we can maximize that lake, which happens to be one of the largest freshwater sources in Southeast Asia. Laguna de Bay has a surface area of more than 900,000 square kilometers. In contrast, the Angat Watershed has a surface area of only about 570 square kilometers. Just imagine how much more rainwater Laguna de Bay can harvest.
To be effective, though, the authorities have to clamp down on land reclamation allegedly done by some property developers. Also, there ought to be a serious enforcement of laws that govern and restrict the operation of fish pens. We need to find a better balance of our needs for freshwater fish and for potable water.
Moreover, the authorities should look into dredging the lake. Despite its massive area, its average depth is only around 2.5 meters (about 8 feet). And of course, there should be a program that mitigate a siltation such as a reforestation of the mountains and other areas around the lake.
Granted, what we mention here would be a grand undertaking. But the problem is complex and the solutions should be comprehensive, maybe even radical. Palliatives only prolong agony.