Big strides toward water adequacy in Metro Manila

The recent signing by the government of renegotiated concession supply agreements with Manila Water Company and Maynilad Water Services Inc. in April and May, respectively, represent significant strides toward the attainment of water adequacy in their franchise areas in Metro Manila, Rizal and parts of Cavite. The new agreements cover the next 25 years.

Recall that in 2019, when Metro Manila experienced water shortage episodes, the water firms’ “oligarch” owners were threatened with “expropriation,” the application of the government’s “police power,” and being sued for “economic sabotage.”

Two years hence, and into the second year of a protracted pandemic, the government proudly points to having excluded the erstwhile “onerous” provisions of the agreements that were forged in 1997 as a new era of public-private partnerships was heralded.