DENOUNCE
AND STOP THE WATER RATE REBASING SCHEME OF MAYNILAD AND MANILA
WATER SERVICE
June
6 - More than 200 workers picketed the Maynilad Main Office in
Tandang Sora, Quezon City this morning to denounce the water
rate re-basing scheme of Maynilad and the Manila Water Service
and call on the national government, particularly the
Regulatory Office, not to recommend the approval of the
application because it is unjust and would only worsen the
situation of the people during this time of severe economic
crisis.
The
Lopez-owned Maynilad, had several increases in the past, the
latest of which happened last January 1, 2002. In fact, since
the water service was privatized, water rates have jacked up
by 135% from P6.58 pcm in September 2001 to P15.46 pcm this
March. Now, together with the Ayalas who own the Manila Water,
they are once again working double time to get an approval for
a rate re-basing scheme that would peg water charges at P30.00
per cubic meter or another 94% increase in the price of water!
It was reported that they are hoping to get the MWSS’s
approval for rate re-basing by June 30.
Under
the original provision of the concession agreement, rate
re-basing can be done 10 years after privatization. However,
an amendment to the said agreement last year (Amendment Number
1) paved the way for the water companies to petition for new
rates this year, only four years after privatization. The
water concessionaires are already passing on to its consumers,
costs that cover what usually is considered as normal business
risks, like the foreign exchange losses of these companies or
Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA) as what
MERALCO has been doing with our electric bills.
“The
problem here is that, the Lopezes do not know how to run a
business unless it is under a monopoly condition! Apparently,
they have nothing in mind but to make money at the expense of
their captive market – the workers and the consumers,”
Josua Mata, Secretary General of the Alliance of Progressive
Labor, said.
“Clearly
this is a failure of privatization. As we see it, all the hype
about the merits of privatization is baseless and the
government should re-think its economic policies and re-define
its role in managing public service utilities for the good of
the people and the future of this country,” Mata said.
Last
April, hundreds of Maynilad consumers from Quezon and Caloocan
cities trooped to Maynilad main office in Tandang Sora, Quezon
City to demand the installation of water pipes and water
service in their area after paying connection fees two years
ago. The people were able to force inept Maynilad officials to
act on their demands because of that unified stance, though it
is still beyond completion.
The
APL vows to oppose water rate increases and the rate re-basing
scheme until the government and the water concessionaires heed
to the peoples demands.
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