Ayala brothers take responsibility for water interruptions, appeal for patience

Manila Water Company Inc. chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Vice Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala on Wednesday appealed for the patience of customers of the private concessionaire, as they apologized and took responsibility for the water service interruptions experienced earlier this month.

"We continue to appeal for everyone's patience as our teams at Manila Water are working hard and overtime to immediately and comprehensively remedy the situation," the Zobel de Ayala brothers said in a joint statement posted on Jaime's Facebook account.

"A multitude of factors resulted in this lack of supply, and we take responsibility for our own shortcomings in the company. We recognize and understand the difficulties that all our customers are going through," the statement read.

His statement comes a day after Manila Water announced it would implement a one-time bill waiver scheme covering customers affected by the recent water service interruptions.

Ferdinand dela Cruz, Manila Water president and CEO, earlier apologized for the recent water supply issues experienced by the customers of the company, as the La Mesa Reserve breached its critical level of 69 meters which prevented the company from meeting the demand of 150 million liters per day from the reservoir.

"Please be assured that Manila Water is exploring all possible options to bring back services to the high levels that we are all accustomed to. As of March 25th, our 8 to 12-hour water availability at ground floor level has reached 97 percent," said the Zobel de Ayala brothers.

"Again, we recognize our shortcomings in the situation. We will double our efforts to restore services to the high levels that we have had and to ensure that future shortages such as these will not be repeated. We are deeply grateful for your understanding. Thank you," the statement read. — RSJ, GMA News