‘Anything possible’ in deferring water rate hikes: Malacañang

Panelo, meanwhile, clarified that the President made no mention of rescinding the alleged irregular water deals after legal and political experts said Duterte has basis for rescinding them, but he cannot arbitrarily do so. (Pixabay Photo)

MANILA — Malacañang believes that “anything is possible” in relation to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s (MWSS) push to defer water rate hikes which are supposed to be implemented starting January 1, 2020.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after the MWSS Regulatory Office said it was initiating talks with water concessionaires Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. for a postponement “in light of recent events” in relation to President Rodrigo Duterte’s tirades on the alleged onerous water concession agreements.

“Eh lahat naman ‘yan puwede lahat e. Lahat napag-uusapan ‘yan. Pag-uusapan, ide-defer kung hindi pa ready sa pag-i-implement, (Anything is possible. Anything can be discussed. They can discuss if they can defer it if they’re not yet ready to implement it),” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in an interview over dzIQ on Sunday.

Panelo, meanwhile, clarified that the President made no mention of rescinding the alleged irregular water deals after legal and political experts said Duterte has basis for rescinding them, but he cannot arbitrarily do so.

San Beda Graduate School of Law dean, Fr. Ranhilio Aquino said cancellation of contracts must undergo a process in courts.

“Wala namang sinasabi si Presidente na magre-rescind. Ang sinasabi niya ayusin niyo ang kontratang ‘yan dahil mali ang kontratang ‘yan (The President made no mention of rescinding. What he said is he wants the contracts fixed because those contracts are wrong),” Panelo said.

“Kumbaga, mag-uusap. Kung pumayag sila, di wala nang problema. Pag di naman, magde-demanda (In other words, they’re going to talk. If they agree, there won’t be a problem. If they disagree, we’ll sue them),” he added.

On Tuesday, Duterte asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Office of the Solicitor General to craft new water concession agreements that are “favorable to the State and the Filipino people”.

He also asked the two agencies to file economic sabotage cases against all those involved in the agreements.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in Singapore has ordered the government to pay Maynilad about PHP3.6 billion in damages for the company’s losses over the refusal to implement tariff adjustment for 2013 to 2017.

Recently, the court also asked the government to pay PHP7.4 billion to the Ayala-Manila Water as compensation for losses and damages from delayed water rate increases since 2015.

Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corporation owns a controlling stake in Maynilad while Manila Water is a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation.

However, the President said he refused to pay the water concessionaires and lambasted and threatened to jail them for allegedly having committed “economic plunder” by making the government pay billions of pesos for damages.

The MWSS approved Maynilad and Manila Water’s rate increase petition in 2018.

For Maynilad, the approved rate increase is PHP5.73 which will be applied on a staggered basis for five years or until 2022. On the other hand, Manila Water had been allowed a rate hike of PHP 6.22 to PHP 6.50.

However, because the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has yet to increase Metro Manila’s water allocation, water service interruption is still to be experienced by Maynilad and Manila Water consumers despite the expected rate hike.