By Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA
MANILA — Amid the water shortage crippling parts of Metro Manila, Senator Grace Poe on Monday urged the Manila Water Company Inc. to give its affected customers a fair adjustment in their bills for the month of March and the succeeding months.
In a statement, Poe said the Ayala-led concessionaire can manage to implement possible bill reductions as a form of apology for its customers who have been inconvenienced by the supply shortage.
“Manila Water can absorb it, their income will not dry up. It is a drop in their bucket of profits. An apology is best expressed monetarily,” Poe said.
Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, said state regulator Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) must see to it that the consumers are not “shortchanged” by the computation of the bill adjustments.
Poe’s panel is set to release a preliminary report containing recommendations on the water crisis plaguing Metro Manila and parts of Rizal after it conducted a five-hour long hearing last week.
Poe said her committee would recommend the revamp at the MWSS and press water concessionaire Manila Water to compensate consumers affected by massive water interruptions.
The panel’s report would also touch on who should compose the MWSS as the industry requires expertise of civil engineers, finance and recognized labor leaders as stated in the MWSS Charter.
