Gov’t wants ‘new deal’ with Manila Water —DOJ

Published December 05, 2019 05:24 PM By NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS,GMA News

The government wants to strike a new deal with Manila Water, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said several days after the water concessionaire scored a P7.4-billion victory from an arbitration court in Singapore.

"The government is more interested in getting a new deal than in compromising the arbitral award," Guevarra said in a message to reporters.

Manila Water on Thursday morning said in a statement that it was willing to work

with the Duterte administration to arrive at a "workable solution" in light of the recent arbitration ruling.

Guevarra on Tuesday said that the Department of Justice has found "onerous" or "disadvantageous" provisions in the government's 1997 concession agreements with Manila Water and Maynilad.

These include  a prohibition on government interference in rate-setting and a provision for indemnity in case of an interference.

Both water firms have scored billion-peso awards equivalent to claimed damages and losses due to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System's rejection of their proposed rate increases.

While the DOJ was still studying its legal options, Guevarra said it might start by drafting a new version of the concession agreements that "excises all provisions... that we believe are contrary to law and public policy, as well as those that are highly prejudicial to the interest of the consuming public."

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Thursday said the government would not indemnify Maynilad and Manila Water.

The Office of the Solicitor General has stressed that the decision on Manila Water was far from final.

Guevarra said the office was considering judicial remedies in the Philippines and/or abroad.

"Some members of the Cabinet want an overhaul of the existing concession agreements," Guevarra said. "Others are thinking of more drastic actions."

While he did not disclose which drastic actions were proposed, Guevarra said one such suggestion was the filing of charges, as mentioned by President Rodrigo Duterte himself.

Duterte in a speech this week threatened to arrest those behind the concession agreements.

The DOJ will come up with an "integrated solution," Guevarra said. —NB, GMA News

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