Long-term solutions required to resolve national water crisis
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Sat, 07 Dec 2019 16:48:06 +0000
We welcome the tough stance that President Rodrigo Duterte has taken against water utilities in the capital region, Manila Water Company Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. Even before the President’s televised tirade, we have argued in this space that those firms have failed to deliver on parts of their contractual obligations to consumers. We have also mentioned in previous editorials that the country faces a water crisis. Demanding better service from Maynilad and Manila Water should only be the beginning of a series of measures that need to be taken. And our aim should be on achieving long-term solutions.
Onerous contracts are just part of the problem. Rightly so, they should be reviewed.
Alleged graft and other crimes should be investigated. No one should be spared. But, again, further action should be taken.
In fairness to Manila Water and Maynilad, they seem willing to talk with the government. If meetings do happen, there should be transparency. Let us be vigilant against backroom deals. Many regulators have been captured by big business.
Also, we urge the President to hold firm against paying the P11 billion or so awarded to Maynilad and Manila Water by the recent arbitration ruling. Under those utilities’ contracts, the government pays for their losses. As our columnist Rigorberto Tiglao pointed out recently, they cannot claim to have lost money when they reported some P13 billion in combined income just in 2018. Between 2009 and 2018, the combined income of Manila Water and Maynilad comes to almost P120 billion. As an aside, the government should hire better lawyers moving forward.
All points of view
We have to ask ourselves, what if the government wins? Are we guaranteed better service if another firm or the government takes over water distribution? While we have said before that nationalization should be part of a broad set of options that should be studied, we should not forget that corruption and mismanagement in government made it possible for people to accept privatization decades ago. As President Rodrigo Duterte himself has pointed out, corruption remains as a scourge today.
Also, the authorities should be mindful of how the President’s actions might be perceived by foreign investors, particularly prospective ones. Remember that there is a contract in place. It may be lopsided, but it is still a legal agreement.
Even if the President gets his way through legal means, what does the government do about the water situation elsewhere in the country? Metro Cebu is contemplating importing water from Bohol to address its shortage. We heard that the situation in Zamboanga City is more dire than that of Metro Manila. And similar shortages are being experienced in Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and elsewhere across the Philippines.
Returning to Metro Manila, its population has grown 1.78 percent from 2000 to 2015. But during that period, the capacity to supply water to its residents has roughly remained the same.
The popular remedy these days is to build Kaliwa Dam, which we have also argued is fraught with danger to both people, including indigenous communities that will be displaced, and the environment. If built, that dam will reduce the already shrunken Sierra Madre area and ruin the habitat for endangered species, including the Philippine Eagle. To limit our options to either/or (as in, either drinking water or the environment) is lazy thinking. It can also be dangerous and can lead long-term consequences.
For starters, we urge President Duterte to convene a national summit to address the looming water crisis across the country. And as he does so, we hope that he maintains pressure on Maynilad Water and Manila Water to moderate their greed and to provide better service. We are not against private companies making profits. We are against exploiting people, especially for the sake of making money.
Lastly, we should keep in mind that President Duterte will remain in office only until 2022.
And given the scale of our water problem, it will take a decade or longer to address this issue. Our point is, the water problem is also bigger than the President. But for now, he can get things started.