Solons want MWSI, MWCI to speed up laying down of sewerage facilities in Metro

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers urged water concessionaires on Thursday to speed up the laying down of sewerage facilities in Metro Manila to boost efforts to protect and conserve water resources. In House Resolution 907, lawmakers asked the two concessionaires Manila Water Services, Inc. (MWSI) and Manila Water Co. Inc. (MWCI) to accelerate sewerage provision to 100 percent coverage by the year 2016. Manila Water and Maynilad are concessionaires of the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System (MWSS), which supplies water and sanitation services within Metro Manila, Rizal and parts of Bulacan and Cavite. The measure said these sewerage facilities will help arrest the pollution and deterioration of Manila Bay, Laguna Lake, Pasig River, Marikina River, San Juan River and the Parañaque River. The bodies of water mentioned in the resolution are all under the jurisdiction of MWSS, the lawmakers said. Authors of the resolution include Reps. Jesus Crispin Remulla (Cavite), Jose Solis (Sorsogon) and Ignacio Arroyo (Negros Occidental). The resolution noted the concession agreement entered into by the MWSI and MWCI with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) in August 1997 provides that the concessionaires shall supply sewerage services to all consumers. But almost 12 years since the agreement, only 5.6 percent of the population within the area of jurisdiction of MWSS are connected to a sewerage system, the lawmakers said. They said that with the lack of sewerage facilities, domestic households use so much water in their day-to-day activities, contributing greatly to water waste and pollution. They said the measure is in line with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UN MDGs), which the Philippine Government is committed to achieve. Under the UN MDGs, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation must be reduced by half by 2015. - GMANews.TV