Duterte wants to confront Manila Water, Maynilad officials over concession deals

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said he wants to confront the officials of Maynilad and Manila Water over the concession agreements his government had deemed onerous and disadvantageous to the public.

In a speech in Malacañang, Duterte said he remains angry about the deals that were sealed in 1997 under then-President Fidel Ramos.

“Hindi ito maareglo hangga’t hindi ko makausap ‘yung mga concessionaire. Gusto ko harap ang abogado ng gobyerno na p— inang nagawa nitong kontratang ito,” Duterte told newly-promoted police and military officials.

Duterte then joked that he would ask Armed Forces chief General Noel Clement to bring high-powered M16 rifles to his meeting with the water companies.

The President said he would order Clement to kill the representatives of the concessionaires.

“Huwag kang mag-iwan ng buhay,” Duterte quipped. “Galit na galit talaga ako. Pasensya na kayo sa behavior ko. Ganun talaga ako.”

On Sunday, the Department of Justice said the government will be forced to take legal action against Maynilad and Manila Water if they do not agree to remove the supposedly "illegal" and "onerous" provisions in the concession agreement.

DOJ spokesperson Undersecretary Markk Perete said Maynilad and Manila Water have agreed to sit down and discuss with the government the supposedly disadvantageous provisions.

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s 1997 agreements with the water concessionaires prohibit any government interference in rate-setting and provide an indemnity clause in case of such interference.

The provisions were the reasons why the government was ordered by an arbitration court in Singapore to pay Manny Pangilinan-led Maynilad P3.6 billion and Ayala-owned Manila Water P7.4 billion as compensation for losses or damages.

Duterte said the government would not indemnify the water concessionaires.

“Paano mo aregluhin ‘yan ngayon? They say na, ‘aregluhin natin.’ How? How will I compromise? It’s plunder. That is the classic economic plunder,” he said.

“Sabihin mo bastos, bastos talaga ako. Aba p— ina, binastos mo ang bayan ko.”

The President has already ordered the Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General to draft and prepare new concession deals that are favorable to the government and the Filipino people.

He has also directed the filing of criminal charges against those involved in the crafting of the agreements. — BM, GMA News