Duterte threatens to file economic sabotage vs. water firms

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in Maasim, Sarangani Province on November 22, 2019. JOEY DALUMPINES/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night threatened to sue water concessionaires Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. for economic sabotage over irregularities in the concession agreements the firms signed with the government in 1997.

“Bakit pumayag ang mga senador diyan? Marami ‘yan sila (Why did the senators agree to that? There are many of them). And we will expose them and I will insist that they be tried for economic sabotage,” Duterte said in a speech in Malacañang.

“Pag ‘di nila tanggapin ‘yung kaso na ‘yan (If they don’t accept the case). I’ll tell the Supreme Court now, now is the time that we talk seriously…Ito ifa-file ko ‘to (I will file this case)…economic sabotage and I will arrest them,” he added.

He said he wanted all those involved in the onerous contract to experience life in prison.

Meanwhile, Duterte also asked Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Solicitor General Jose Calida to “craft a new contract that is really favorable to government”.

In a separate speech, Duterte expressed frustration over how the concession agreements prevented the government from interfering with the water distribution responsibilities.

“When I saw the contract, sabi ko p*t*ng*n*ng ‘to (I said), they are screwing us and they are screwing us all the way),” Duterte said.

“Sila and distributor, atin ang tubig (They’re the distributors, we own the water). In the contract, the water is categorized not as a natural resource but as a commodity. At sa contract, hindi Republic of the Philippines,” he added.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said that the President will make a “public statement” on the concession agreements.

Upon instruction of the President, the justice department reviewed the 1997 water concession agreements and “found a dozen provisions that were deemed onerous or disadvantageous to the government and the consuming public”.

Guevarra said that one of the most notable onerous provisions in the concession deals was the prohibition against government interference in rate-setting and the provision on indemnity for possible losses in the event of such government interference.

Due to the two provisions, the government was ordered by the Singapore arbitration court to pay Maynilad about PHP3.6 billion and, recently, PHP7.4 billion to Manila Water as compensation for losses and damages.

Guevarra said another onerous provision is the extension of these contracts to 2037 considering that the extension was granted 12 to 13 years before the original expiration of the 25-year concession agreements in 2022.