Claire Castro clarifies she didn't insinuate Mark Villar had hand on PrimeWater deals

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro on Tuesday clarified that she did not insinuate that former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar had a hand in the deals of PrimeWater.

To recall, Castro said last week that joint venture agreements (JVAs) between PrimeWater and other local water districts increased in 2019 when the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) was still an attached agency of the DPWH.

''Ang pagkaka-describe lang naman natin ay mas dumami noong 2019 at noong ito ay na-attach nga sa DPWH iyong LWUA, okay. Ang LWUA kasi ay attached agency dati ng DPWH at hindi tayo nagbibigay ng insinuation na dahil kay Secretary at that time, Mark Villar, dahil nagkataon kasi siya iyong namumuno sa DPWH. At sa aking pagbabasa, wala siyang naging partisipasyon patungkol dito sa mga transaksiyon,'' Castro said in a briefing.

(I just described that in 2019, the number of deals increased and this is when the LWUA was still an attached agency of the DPWH. The LWUA was previously an attached agency of DPWH and I did not insinuate that it's because of former Secretary Mark Villar, who led the agency at that time. For me, he has no participation as regards these transactions.)

''Mas maganda nga po sana kung siya ay nagkaroon nang mas malalimang pagpa-participate dahil baka mas naiwasan pa iyong problema ng PrimeWater. Iyon lang,'' Castro added.

(It would have been better if he had a deeper participation on this so the problems in PrimeWater were avoided. That's all.)

PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. is owned by the Villar family.

Marcos had ordered an investigation into the operations of PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. due to numerous service-related complaints.

For its part, the water service provider had vowed to be open to any meaningful dialogue that would resolve concerns as it also affirmed it is committed to cooperating with LWUA.

Meanwhile, LWUA Administrator Jose Moises Salonga said the agency already finished its initial investigation into the complaints against PrimeWater JVAs, and that its findings and recommendations were already submitted to Marcos' office.

Salonga said the possible conflict could be linked to the previous officials of these offices.

Villar has said that he had no direct or indirect ownership or controlling interest in PrimeWater. — BAP, GMA Integrated News