Ayala-led Manila Water on Wednesday, December 11, admitted it decided not to demand billions of refund from the government in a bid to quell President Rodrigo Duterte’s anger.
Ayala-led Manila Water on Wednesday, December 11, admitted it decided not to demand billions of refund from the government in a bid to quell President Rodrigo Duterte’s anger.In a House hearing on Tuesday, Manila Water President Rene Almendras and Maynilad President Ramoncito Fernandez said the two water firms will no longer pursue the PHP 7.4 billion and PHP 3.4 billion indemnifications that the Singapore Permanent Court of Arbitration granted last November.
“Ayaw po naming kalabanin ang Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. Mabuti po ang ginagawa niya para sa taong bayan at sumusuporta po kami. Humihingi po kami ng paumanhin kung nagalit siya dahil sa arbitral ruling,” Manila Water Corporation President and CEO Jose Almendras said during a Senate hearing on the proposed creation of a water department.
Almendras said Manila Water did not mean to give President Duterte a problem, further explaining that the case was filed in 2015, under the Aquino administration, and there was no way to stop the arbitral tribunal’s decision.
The arbitration court recently ordered the Philippine government to pay the company ₱7.4 billion in losses stemming from rejected water rate hikes, a decision that came three years after Maynilad scored a ₱3.4 billion arbitral win.
This prompted President Duterte to lash out at the two utility firms, threatening to sue them and former government officials for economic plunder over supposedly onerous water concession agreements.
Further, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go asked as to why the water concessionaires — Manila Water and Maynilad — had decided to waive the close to ₱11 billion payment from the government.
“It’s unfortunate po na nagalit ang Pangulo. Hindi po namin pagnanasa na magbigay ng problema sa Pangulo. Ayaw po naming galitin ang Pangulo. Susunod po kami sa Pangulo. Siya po ang lider ng ating bansa,” the official said.
President Duterte, however, continued to lambast the water concessionaires on Tuesday, even threatening to “expropriate everything” if he’s not satisfied with the explanation of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).
He also insisted on talking to the lawyers who crafted the 1997 deals, saying he would suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, which would allow warrantless arrests if they fail to meet with him.
The government’s contracts with Maynilad and Manila Water will end in 2022 after the MWSS revoked the resolution extending the effectivity to 2037.
Source: CNN
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