Manila residents ration water as Maynilad Water conducts emergency service

Manila residents had to ration and stock up on water due to Maynilad Water's emergency water service interruption on Thursday evening, according to a report on Unang Balita by Mav Gonzales on Friday.

Areas affected by the water service interruption due to the low supply of water in Maynilad's La Mesa treatment plant in Metro Manila include Caloocan, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Pasay, Manila, Navotas, Quezon City, and Valenzuela.

Bacoor, Cavite City, Imus, Kawit, and Noveleta in Cavite City were also affected.

Jen Rufo, stakeholder communications head of Maynilad, said part of the problem lies with Manila Water receiving a bigger water allocation for its own customers in the past few days.

"Ang nangyayari kami naman naapektuhan. The moment mabawasan 'yung allocation namin, automatic nararamdaman ng customers 'yan," Rufo explained.

"Sana masunod lang 'yung sharing para hindi na namin kailangan mag-implement ng daily service interruption sa aming mga customer," she added.

Water services resumed at 4 a.m. on Friday.

Maynilad and Manila Water representatives will meet later on Friday to discuss the situation.

Though some areas were warned in advance of the water interruption, other areas like Pandacan were initially not advised that they would be affected by Maynilad's servicing.

In another report by Vonne Aquino, residents and small businesses in Tondo, Manila also complained of being caught unaware by the water service interruption.

Areas that were forewarned, like Barangay 848, were able to stock up ahead of time but most areas had to wait for water tankers from Maynilad and nearby fire stations that volunteered their supplies. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News