Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra on Sunday, May 2, assured there will be no more onerous provisions in the new concession agreement (CA) that will be signed with Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad Water).
“There are certain provisions which, I believe, are non-negotiable,” Guevarra stressed.
“The removal of the non-interference clause, the non-chargeability of corporate income tax to consumers’ water bills, no government guarantees for future debts, COA (Commission on Audit) audit, and a more transparent governance mechanism are some of these,” he said.
The assurance was made by Guevarra as representatives of Maynilad Water and the government are set to start their talks on Monday, May 3, on the new water concession agreement.
Guevarra said the government panel has already sent a copy of the revised concession agreement to Maynila Water.
“Until we hear the initial comments of Maynilad Water, we can’t say if we’ll have a CA that is not too different from the CA with Manila Water” (Manila Water Company, Inc.), he noted.
Maynilad Water and Manila Water are the two water concessionaires in Metro Manila and some nearby provinces.
The government and Manila Water have signed a revised CA last March 31 and the agreement will be effective six months after the signing.
President Duterte himself pushed for the revision of the pre-existing water concession agreements with the two companies as early as December 2019 after a panel of reviewers from the Department of Justice found numerous onerous provisions.