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22 January 2003 SUSPEND
WATER RATE HIKES, As the New Year begins,
we are bombarded with a multitude of crises that further impoverish the
poorest among us and serve as added burdens to the rest. The PPA makes a
comeback, gasoline prices are about to rise again, and as expected, water Is Maynilad really
leaving? Then why is the government still raising water rates in the West
Zone to P26? Does that mean that MWSS plans to maintain that rate as it
takes over the concession? What is the status of re-bidding plans? When
new bidders come into the picture, will they be allowed to make bids lower
than P26 per cubic meter? While we do not blame
President Arroyo for setting the prices of commodities and utilities, we
wish to point out that all these If President Arroyo is
serious about putting together a comprehensive economic reform package,
she should include a thorough review of the government’s privatization
policy for the water sector in the light of unrelenting price hikes and
inefficient service by the private concessionaires, as well as weaknesses
in the current regulatory set-up. In particular, we ask the Arroyo
government, through the pertinent agencies, to 1) suspend the water rate
hikes until further study (in Congress, there is House Resolution 926 to
this effect) and until the IAP deliberations are settled 2) marshal the
MWSS and its economic team to defeat Maynilad’s IAP bid 3) expedite the
establishment of an independent water regulatory commission in the mold of
the Energy Regulation Commission, where consumers have a legal personality
to contest increases and other water-related issues and 4) craft a
long-term water policy beyond privatization whose priority is water access
for all Filipinos, especially the urban poor. We appeal to the new
DPWH Secretary Bayani Fernando, in his capacity as chairman of the MWSS
Board of Trustees and the MMDA, to review the performance of the MWSS, the
Regulatory Office and the concessionaires and see for himself the grave
problems that Metro Manilans experience with regards to water service. We
appeal to Sec. Romulo Neri of the NEDA to facilitate the review of the
water privatization scheme and the implementation of an old NEDA proposal
to establish an independent regulatory commission for water. We challenge
the Arroyo administration to hold its own against Maynilad and the Lopezes:
Maynilad must go and it must be penalized. We consumers will not pay P21
billion for the failure of this company and for the failure of the water
privatization program. Alliance of
Progressive Labor AKBAYAN
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Alliance of Progressive Labor
(APL) 2002 | |
rates are shooting up. Manila Water is raising its water tariffs to P17 on
a staggered basis, while Maynilad’s rates climb to P26, also on a
staggered basis. The move to raise water rates incrementally is a tactic
devised to ease the impact of the actual amount of increases. When
consumers review their bills in February and in the following months to
come, they will find that their water rates will have increased, despite
the two concessionaires’ claims that they have conducted “public
consultations”. In truth, Manila Water held consultations in urban poor
areas where the residents still do not have water connections and would
have consented to any price proposal only to gain access to water.
Maynilad flatly refused to hold any consultations at all. They simply
walked away from the contract after being refused their desired tariff
level. They have filed a P21 Billion claim with the International
Arbitration Panel (IAP) due to be deliberated in February.