Politics behind PrimeWater probe? Palace slams Sara's claim

Malacañang on Friday hit back at Vice President Sara Duterte for claiming that politics was the reason behind President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr.'s order to probe PrimeWater services.

''We do not expect anything nice or any nice word from the Vice President in favor of the President and of the present administration,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said in a briefing.

''She will always use that excuse or defense of mamumulitika without really answering or responding directly to the issues,'' she added. 

Castro said she's thinking why the complaints against PrimeWater were not addressed during the Duterte administration.

''Tandaan po natin, marami na po na mga kababayan natin, ang customers po ng PrimeWater na siyang umiiyak. Hindi po ito bago, kaya po nakakapagtaka kung bakit hindi ito nasolusyunan sa nakaraang administrasyon," she said.

(Let's remember that a lot of customers have been complaining about this. This is not new, so I'm curious why these were not solved by the previous administration.) 

She stressed that it is the duty of the government to address the public's concerns. 

Duterte had claimed that the probe was being done by the Malacañang to politically persecute senatorial candidate Camille Villar after her endorsement. 

The Villar Family owns the said water service provider. 

“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.)

Castro, meanwhile, said Duterte has always been using that excuse.

Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas also released a statement on Friday saying that Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar is still part of the administration slate for Eleksyon 2025. 

But Alyansa also said that it supports Marcos' directive to investigate PrimeWater.

According to Castro, the probe, led by Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), begins today, May 2.

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