By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara is now pushing for a one-time condonation of the interest on the loans incurred by local water districts (LWD) with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).
Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara (Senator Sonny Angara Official Facebook Page / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
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Angara said this is to help LWDs sustain their operation and maintain their financial viability.
The senator noted that over the years, several LWDs have accumulated debts which they have not been able to settle on time.
If left unpaid, he said these LWDs would be faced with the difficult choice of recovering their substantial loss either by increasing the water rate charged to their clients or by contracting new loans from LWUA.
"Either way, the quality of services offered by LWDs will be seriously affected,” Angara said.
“These water districts play an important role in our communities so we must find ways to ensure their continuous operation,” he stressed.
In filing Senate Bill No. 1161, Angara is seeking the grant of a one-time condonation particularly on the outstanding interest on arrearages and penalties assessed by the LWUA on qualified LWDs.
Under the bill, qualified LWDs are those that “do not have enough financial capacity to pay their loan amortization on time as may be determined by the LWUA.”
Angara, however, clarified that the measure does not encourage the non-payment of debts.
He emphasized that the condonation will be undertaken only once to assist qualified water districts in updating their loan amortizations to LWUA.
“We are not encouraging the non-payment of debts with this measure. Our intention is to keep these water districts afloat by providing them with some form of relief from their financial burdens,” Angara said.
After the condonation, the LWDs that benefited would no longer be allowed to avail of another condonation program of a similar nature in the future.
The lawmaker said LWDs, which are over 500 nationwide, are local corporate entities that operate and maintain a water supply system in one or more provincial cities or municipalities.
But it is the LWUA that provides loans to water districts for the comprehensive development, repair, or rehabilitation of new or existing water supply systems, new service connections, and watershed management, among others.