32-hour water interruption starts; Maynilad fields 62 water tankers

At least 62 water tankers have been deployed to the west sector of Metro Manila and Cavite after a water concessionaire started its 32-hour water service interruption before dawn Saturday. Jesus Matubis Jr., spokesman of Maynilad Water Services Inc., also said repairs in some of the affected areas were going well and ahead of schedule. “Meron kaming 62 water tankers. Ang sa atin lima, umuupa kami ng iba. 14 sa mga tankers galing Pagcor (We have 62 water tankers going around the affected areas. We have five tankers but we rent other tankers in contingencies like this. 14 of the tankers are from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.)," Matubis said in an interview on dzRH radio. He said the water tankers’ deployment had been coordinated with the village chiefs of the affected areas. The 32-hour water cutoff started at 1 a.m. Saturday. Matubis said they expect water service to resume by 9 a.m. Sunday “at the latest." Areas affected include Manila, Pasay, Makati, Parañaque and Las Piñas Cities, including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) area, and Bacoor and Imus in Cavite. Matubis said repairs in some areas, such as the Anda Circle in Manila’s Intramuros district, went faster than scheduled. He said repairs there were completed 6 a.m. instead of noon. He said Maynilad decided to make one big repair job instead of separate smaller repairs, which he said would have caused greater inconvenience. On the other hand, Matubis advised residents to allow the water to flow first out of the faucet to allow the flushing out of sand and dirt. “Pag bumalik tubig hayaang tumulo. May buhangin at dumi na kailangang i-flush (When the water service resumes, let the water flow out of the faucet first, to flush out sand and dirt that may have accumulated)," he said. Customers may call the Maynilad hotlines at 1626 or 4362000, he said. - GMANews.TV