Martyn Miguel Q.

Tadena

2ECE

SS3

After train fare hikes, water rates next?

ABS-CBNnews.com
01/06/2015 12:58 PM
MANILA - After an increase in MRT-LRT fares, Filipino consumers in the metropolis face an
increase in water rates this 2015 after an international appeals panel ruled in favor of
Maynilad Water Services Inc. to raise its base rates.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday, DMCI Holdings, one of the
owners of Maynilad, said the International Court of Arbitration's appeals panel for Maynilad
and Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) upheld the water
concessionaire's alternative rebasing adjustment.
This will result in a 9.8 percent increase in the 2013 average basic water charge of
P31.28/cu.m., inclusive of the P1.00 Currency Exchange Rate Adjustment which the MWSS
has now incorporated into the basic charge, the firm said.
There has been no ruling for the case of Manila Water.
The decision will mean an additional P12.60 for users of 10 cubic meters per month; P50.40
for users of 20 cubic meters per month; and P79.80 for users of 30 cubic meters per month.
Maynilad said it is willing to implement the increase on a three-year staggered basis to
mitigate the impact of the Award on its customers in the West Zone of Metro Manila subject
to approval of the MWSS.
MWSS chief regulator Joel Yu said they have yet to receive a copy of the decision but added
the regulator stands by its decision to reject Maynilad and Manila Water's application to
increase base rates in 2013.
Speaking to radio DZMM, Yu said the three-man arbitration panel is composed of
representatives recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce, MWSS and
Maynilad.
He refused to identify the three, saying the names are confidential.
He also said there are "legal concerns" regarding the decision of the arbitration panel that
needs to be studied by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.
Former congressman and Water for the People Network co-convenor Teddy Casino said the
shroud of secrecy covering the arbitration panel puts the Filipino consumer at a disadvantage.
"When it was brought for arbitration, kinabahan na kami. We don't even know the names of
the people on the panel. What is the process and what are the evidences being presented?" he
said in a DZMM interview.

Casino said the MWSS had been under tremendous pressure to grant Maynilad and Manila
Water's application to increase base rates in 2013.
The decision of the regulator to reject the base rate hike prompted the two water
concessionaires to elevate the case for arbitration before the International Chamber of
Commerce.
The former lawmaker said the Philippine government must put the public good above all else
in making its next move on the issue of water rates.
"The government has to make a decision and stick to it. Dehado ang consumer. Obligasyon
niya ito sa mamamayan," he told radio DZMM.
REACTION:
I think the government should actually consider making alternative solutions than leaping
into bigger decisions. Maybe there are other solutions other than rate hikes. The country is
already facing a lot of financial shortage, individually and as a whole. And I have to agree
with Mr. Teddy Casino, we should always put the public good above all else. The government
should be aware about how every other crisis slowly affects us negatively. But we,
individuals, could also take a part of this change. We can preserve water, so that water
shortage wont be one of our problems. The solutions can be in our hands, too.