MWSS to decide on water contract extension

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines' water agency will be meeting on Friday to discuss a proposal extending the service contracts of two Metro Manila water distributors, sources familiar with the matter told GMANews.TV. Board members of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) are set to decide on the proposal, which was initially opposed by some officials of the MWSS Regulatory Office. If approved, Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) and Manila Water Co. Inc. (MWCI) will serve the capital's west and east zones until 2032, a decade after their respective contracts end in 2022. Extending the 25-year water distribution agreement is seen to be "grossly disadvantageous" to the government and to the companies' combined twelve million customers, an MWSS document earlier shown to GMANews.TV indicated. As a result, public officials approving the extension may be "subject to criminal and civil suits," the same document said. Moreover, prolonging the contract "would diminish or close MWSS's opportunity to welcome other operators…who may pay higher concession fees and offer better service," the document said. An extension will permit both concessionaires to charge customers without necessarily being required to spend more to improve water service delivery, a financial expert who refused to be identified earlier said. The MWSS Board's Friday meeting was set three days after officials delivered a presentation that reportedly dealt with the proposal during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. However, an official present during the said Cabinet meeting insisted that the presentation was about mitigating the impact of high rates. The presentation merely covered the impact of water tariffs, Macra A. Cruz, MWSS Deputy Administrator told GMANews.TV. She refused to elaborate. Besides Cruz, those who reportedly attended the meeting included Randolph A. Sakai, MWSS Regulatory Office financial regulation head, and Diosdado Jose M. Allado, MWSS Administrator. Manuel Quizon, MWSS RO's Chief Regulator, was also reportedly present during the meeting. GMANews.TV tried but failed to reach Sakai and Allado. In an earlier interview, Quizon told GMANews.TV that he was in favor of extending the concessionaires' service contracts because these would cut impact of higher rates. - Robert JA Basilio Jr, GMANews.TV