By MADELAINE MIRAFLOR
Manila Water Company, Inc. is voluntarily waiving the fees for its customers, but Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said it is not enough for the Ayala-led company to make up for the unprecedented water supply interruption it implemented in the past weeks.
Yesterday, Manila Water President and Chief Executive Officer Ferdinand dela Cruz said his company will implement a voluntary and one-time bill waiver program in March to be reflected in the April bill of its customers.
Customers of the East Zone concession — from low-income families to commercial and industrial establishments — suffered major inconveniences because of the unprecedented water shortage that began March 6 with the implementation of the scheduled water service interruption scheme to refill the 28 network reservoirs.
This, as Manila Water faced a shortage in its water supply as La Mesa Dam reached its critical level. To be specific, Manila Water has an allocation of 1600 million liters (mld) from Angat Dam. With its demand around 1750 mld or more during the past weeks, it had no choice but to tap its reserves coming from La Mesa.
Under the waiver scheme, all of Manila Water customers will have their minimum charge waived, while customers in barangays that experienced absolutely no water service for at least seven straight or broken days within March 6 to 31 don’t have to pay the company a single centavo for this entire month.
The minimum charge, which represents the first 10 cubic meters (cu.m) consumed by the customers, could translate to a reduction of as much as R76 to R656 this month, depending on what type of customer you are — lifeline, commercial, or industrial.
Meanwhile, the company is still validating its data and will soon come up with the list of barangays that are considered severely hit.
