Dagdag
Presyo, Bawas Serbisyo!
June 19 - The Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) picketed today the MWSS to denounce the regulatory body for conspiring with the water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water in jacking up water rates through a mysterious scheme called rate re-basing.
While
the previously approved rate adjustment that more than doubled
the current water prices to P15 (a whooping 135% increase
compared to September 2001 level) is still being contested,
the APL reminded the public that the conspirators are
currently scheming to once again double the water rates to P30
by January 2003! And had it not been for the exposé of Akbayan a few weeks
ago, they would have done so in complete secrecy, the labor
center added.
To
top it all, the MWSS, through Amendment Number 1 of the
concession agreement, has allowed the water concessionaires to
fleece the consumers while at the same time removing penalties
for their compliance in their service obligations: Nagdagdag
na nga ng presyo nagbawas pa ng serbisyo!
The
APL blamed the government for this dismal state of affairs in
the water service by explaining that when private means are
used to deliver public services, the profit motive would
always take precedence at the expense of the public’s
welfare. The privatization of MWSS is definitely a failure.
While
it was the previous governments that privatized public water
services, it is the current government that perpetrates the
problem by failing to put in place a strong regulatory
mechanism that can enforce service obligations of the water
concessionaires!
The
APL asserts that water is a right and as such should not be
subjected to the whims and caprices of profiteers. It believes
that the water concessionaires should deliver their service
obligations under the original concession agreement. If they
cannot deliver, they should not be allowed price hikes, much
less, allowed to stay in the business of running a public
utility. The APL calls on the MWSS to publicly disclose all
information regarding the water concessionaires’ petition
for rate re-basing.
The
APL is a national labor center that espouses social movement
unionism. It embraces various forms of workers’
organizations operating in the formal and informal sector.
Posted at the
APL Website on 20-June-2002
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