Palace wants ‘timely’ water service interruption notices

FILE: Presidential Spokesperson and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo holds a press briefing for the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) on Monday, November 26, 2018, at the New Executive Building (NEB) in Malacañang. (Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — Malacañang on Monday said that there is a need to improve the issuance of announcements and notices on water service interruptions.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after Metro Manila residents affected by the water service interruption complained about not being able to store water supply beforehand.

“We will improve on that, on the information and notices to the people so that they will be prepared,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

Water concessionaire Manila Water earlier apologized for the unexpected water service interruption which affected some 50,000 households in Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig and Angono, Antipolo, Binangonan, Rodriguez, Taytay, Jalajala and San Mateo in Rizal.

Panelo, meanwhile, expressed concern that water service interruptions were inconveniencing the public.

“Siyempre (Of course), we’re always concerned with respect to any problem affecting the welfare of the people,” Panelo said.

Panelo said that Palace will look into the possibility that there has been a “lack of preparation” on the part of Manila Water.

“We will look into that. I have to ask the President (Rodrigo R. Duterte),” Panelo said.

Panelo said the Palace will also encourage Manila Water to incorporate cloud seeding — a form of weather modification that involves combining chemical agents with existing clouds to increase the chance of rain.

“That’s a possibility. In fact, iyon ang naiisip ko kung bakit hindi gumagawa ng cloud seeding. Di ba usually ganyan ang ginagawa noon? (In fact, that’s what I’m thinking, why not use cloud seeding. We usually did that before),” Panelo said.

However, Manila Water earlier said initial evaluation showed that there is no possible source of clouds to start the process.

Manila Water, which holds the exclusive right to provide water and used water services to Metro Manila, said that the water service interruption was due to low supply in the two major reservoirs namely Angat Dam and La Mesa Dam.

The concessionaire said water service interruptions may persist until the rains come and the water levels in these dams return to suitable levels.