Bills extending Maynilad, Manila Water franchises reach Senate plenary

The bills seeking for the 25-year extension of Maynilad and Manila Water’s concession agreements were sponsored in the Senate plenary on Tuesday.

Senator Grace Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, sponsored House Bills 9422 and 9423.

In sponsoring the measures, Poe noted that the National Capital Region and the nearby provinces have been “plagued year after year and drought after drought of water crisis characterized by constant supply interruption, lack of potable water, and high water rates.”

She said water shortage has always threatened the health and economy of the residents in the greater Manila area.

“We recognize that the grant of franchise is just part of a bigger solution to the water problems in the country, and that there is still a need to tap and develop new water sources, improve water supply, distribution and sewerage systems, and further educate people on water conservation and climate change,” Poe said.

Once enacted into law, Poe said this would help the country in achieving affordable and adequate supply of clean water.

“We are for the continuity of water services and we have continuously reiterated to our concessionaires, our expectation for a better water provider in the new normal. With the grant of this franchise, nawa’y tuluyan nang dumaloy ang ginhawa at maramdaman ng bawat Pilipino ang ‘care in every drop,’” she said.

The Metro Manila concessionaires were granted with the concession agreement for the delivery of water and sewerage services in 1997.

Currently, Maynilad is catering to the residents of West Zone of Metro Manila and Cavite, while Manila Water is providing service to the East Zone of the NCR and the province of Rizal.

Last March 31 and May 18, 2021, Manila Water and Maynilad, respectively, signed the Revised Concession Agreement (RCA).

This revised agreement removes the contentious provisions found in the 1997 contract and included provisions beneficial to the consumers.

According to Poe, the RCA designates the two water concessionaires as public utilities, which require a congressional franchise before it can operate.

Under the new agreement, Poe said there shall be a tariff freeze until December 2022.

The concessionaires will also be required to provide alternative water supply to their customers in case of service interruption.

The water firms may face penalties or fines should they fail to comply with the measures under the RCA. Non-compliance to this may also be considered as ground for termination of the contracts, Poe said.

"This is the first time this Committee under my chairmanship will be granting a franchise to a water concessionaire. So for good measure, apart from the House bill transmitted to us, we made use only of the standard provisions in franchises that we have already deliberated and passed on the floor," she said.

The lawmaker further noted that the bills include the standard provision on “Responsibility to the Public.”

This will highlight the concessionaire’s responsibility to comply with all of its obligations and to incorporate public participation in its service.

The Senate public services committee included in the measures an ipso facto revocation of the franchise for failure to operate continuously for two years. — RSJ, GMA News