Marcos orders probe into PrimeWater ops

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. ordered an investigation into the operations of PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. due to numerous service-related complaints.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said the Marcos administration does not tolerate insufficiency of services, noting that the needs of the public must always be provided.

''Unang-una po sinabi po natin na ang kakulangan sa serbisyo ay walang puwang sa administrasyon ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. Ang pangangailangan po ng tao sa malinis na tubig, sapat na supply ng tubig, ay dapat lamang po at di pang-negosyo lamang kundi ito ay dapat na kinakailanga ang pangangailangan ng taumbayan,'' Castro said in a briefing.

(First of all, we said that the lack of services has no place in the administration of President Marcos Jr. The people's need for clean water, an adequate supply of water should be addressed. It should not just be for business, as it is a primary need of the public.)

''Mag-uutos po ang Pangulo para maimbestigahan po ito,'' she added.

(The President will order an investigation into this.)

GMA Integrated News has reached out to PrimeWater for comment, but it has yet to reply as of posting time.

According to a "24 Oras" report by Mav Gonzales on Thursday, consumers of PrimeWater have been complaining about the poor water service for some time.

“Hindi lang po ako ang nag-report eh. Papupuntahan daw po… Biro niyo, binubuhat ko yung tubig, yung 2 container. Hihinto ako sa malayo-layo rin.  Nagpaplano [na ako] magpatayo ng kahit isang tubo na poso eh,” shared consumer Isidro Surio from Malolos, Bulacan, whose water connection was completely lost since 5 months ago.

(I wasn’t the only one to report. They said they will come… Imagine, I am carrying the 2 containers of water. I have to stop at a far area. [I am] planning to put up at least one water pump.)

“Problema e, dumagdag ang bill… Dire-diretso naman talaga ang bill pero wala ka man lang makitang magandang pamamaraan na para mag-succeed ang mga consumer,” added ‘Nel’ from Dasmariñas, Cavite.

(We are being billed continuously, we can't see any improvement in the service.)

Zambales Representative Jefferson Khonghun has disclosed his intention to launch a congressional investigation into the operations of PrimeWater. 

Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte claimed that the probe was being done by the Malacañang to politically persecute senatorial candidate Camille Villar after her endorsement.

“Malamang, dahil lahat naman ng galawan ngayon ng administrasyon ay dahil sa politika… Wala na akong nakita na ginawa ng administrasyon na ito para sa kapayapaan at kaunlaran ng ating bayan, kundi lahat ay pag-atake lamang sa politika at sa mga taong hindi nila kayang takutin at hindi nila kayang bilhin,” Duterte said.

(This is likely, since all the actions done by the current administration have to do with politics… I have not seen this administration do anything for peace and the development of our country, but only to politically attack the people they know they couldn’t scare off and buy.)

Malacañang has yet to respond to the Vice President’s claims, but had earlier clarified that their trust in Villar as a candidate depends on her performance.

“It depends on how she will perform. If we have this trust in her, well, we have to give to her but she should prove that she could perform as a leader… With this issue regarding PrimeWater, if there’s a need for them to resolve the issues raised by the consumers, I think we should immediately make an immediate action on that,” said Undersecretary Castro.

PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. is owned by the Villar family. —With Jiselle Anne Casucian/VAL, GMA Integrated Newsa