Poe pushes amendments to Public Services Act

Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, made the statement amid the continuing water supply shortage in Metro Manila and the spate of power outages in Luzon. (File Photo: Grace Poe/Facebook)

MANILA — Senator Grace Poe on Friday pushed for the passage of a legislation amending the 82-year-old Public Services Act to provide better quality services to Filipinos.

Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, made the statement amid the continuing water supply shortage in Metro Manila and the spate of power outages in Luzon.

Poe said power and water utilities, as well as telecommunication companies, are “forcing” Filipinos into “early penitence” because of their poor service.

“Walang tubig, walang kuryente, walang internet. Sobrang kalbaryo. Sa susunod na linggo pa ang Mahal na Araw pero nauna na ang pwersahang penitensya (There’s no water, electricity, and internet. The suffering is intense. Holy Week is still next week but the forced penitence came in early),” Poe said.

“Tandaan natin, may mga probisyon sa kontrata ng mga kumpanya na kailangang kalidad na serbisyo ang maibibigay sa taumbayan, at may kaukulang penalty ang hindi makakatugon (Remember, there are provisions in the contracts of companies that they should provide quality service to the people and a corresponding penalty shall be imposed if this is not met),” Poe added.

Poe also urged government regulators to be more “active” in pursuing their mandate and power to ensure that service providers would be able to meet their responsibilities in providing the essential services to the public.

“Sa Senado, may panukalang batas tayo, Public Services Act na naglalayong masiguro na kalidad na serbisyo lamang ang natatangap ng ating mamamayan sa abot-kayang halaga. Isusulong natin ang pagpasa nito (In the Senate, we have proposed legislation, Public Services Act, which aims to ensure that quality service is being delivered to Filipinos at an affordable price. We are pushing for its passage),” Poe said.