Raffy Tulfo says 61 local water districts not satisfied with PrimeWater; firm responds

Senator Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday said 61 local water districts were not satisfied with PrimeWater's services, and many of them also wish to terminate their joint venture agreements (JVAs) with the water service provider.

During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services, which he chairs, Tulfo said that his office conducted a survey of local water districts (LWDs), and that out of the 70 LWDs that responded, 61 are not satisfied with PrimeWater’s services and more than 50 have already entered or are preparing to enter the pre-termination route of their JVAs. 

Specifically, he said three local water districts have already terminated the JVAs, 24 have already issued a notice of pre-termination, and 25 are preparing to begin the pre-termination process. 

“But only a minority have the capacity to actually take over. Among the 52 local water districts that are already in the pre-termination or termination track, only around 21 have both the technical and financial capability to resume full control,” Tulfo said. 

“Ibig sabihin, marami ang gustong kumalas, pero karamihan ay walang sapat na kakayahan—kulang sa pondo, kulang sa tao, at nalilito pa sa legal na proseso,” he added. 

(This means that many of them want to break free, but many don’t have the capacity to do so due to lack of funds, lack of personnel, and they are unsure of the legal process.) 

The senator then asked PrimeWater to allow for a smooth mutual termination for those water districts that wish to terminate their JVAs. 

“PrimeWater, we ask you to meet us halfway. If you want this problem to go away, maybe it’s time to walk away,” he said. 

“Help them recover from your performance bond. Consider this option. If not, hahaba lang ang usapan natin dito. Mag pa-Pasko na at tubig pa rin ang nasa wishlist ng ating mga kababayan,”  he continued. 

(If not, we will only talk for a long time here. It's almost Christmas and water is still on the wishlist of our countrymen.) 

PrimeWater responds

PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. president Roberto Fabrique Jr., in response, said that they are continuously coordinating with their partners to resolve the issues. 

Regardless, Fabrique stood pat that PrimeWater is not violating anything.  

“On my stand naman po, parang PrimeWater has been following what is legally written sa JVA. We are not violating,” he said. “Hindi po totoo na mas pangit ang supply ngayon versus dati nang wala pa ang PrimeWater.”

(For me, it seems like PrimeWater has been following what is legally written in the JVA. We are not violating anything… It’s not true that the water supply is worse now compared to before when PrimeWater was not yet  here.) 

Tulfo, meanwhile, also revealed that his office received a complaint from a contractor providing non-revenue water and maintenance services to multiple PrimeWater JVA sites, seeking assistance for their supposed uncollected billings amounting to more than P90 million, which was overdue since March 2023. 

The senator said that when the financial statements of major water providers were subpoenaed earlier, he discovered that PrimeWater’s net income in 2024 was at P1.34 billion. 

“Napapaisip ako, kung kaya niyong kumita ng bilyon, bakit hindi niyo kayang maglabas para sa sahod at bayarin sa contractors? Since 2022, PrimeWater has been earning billions, hindi piso-piso. Sana naman nararamdaman ito ng mga consumers,” he said. 

(When I saw PrimeWater's numbers, they had P1.34 billion net income in 2024. It made me think, if they can earn billions, why can't they give proper compensation to contractors? Since 2022, PrimeWater has been earning billions, not pennies. I hope the consumers also feel this.)  — BM, GMA Integrated News