Marikina City Mayor Maan Teodoro on Saturday, Dec. 20, led the payment of P15 million to Manila Water as an initial settlement of Barangay Tumana’s ballooning debt, which earlier resulted in the disconnection of water services that affected around 3,000 residents on Dec. 18.

The mayor, together with Marikina 1st District Rep. Marcy Teodoro and members of the City Council, personally went to the Manila Water office in Tumana on Saturday morning to hand over the P15 million cheque to Manila Water personnel.

"Ngayong araw ay nagbayad tayo ng P15 million sa Manila Water bilang initial payment upang agarang ma-reconnect ang water services ng nasa 3,000 residents ng Barangay Tumana (Today, we paid P15 million to Manila Water as an initial payment to immediately restore water services to around 3,000 residents of Barangay Tumana),” the mayor said.

After the payment, the city officials accompanied Manila Water personnel to oversee the opening of Barangay Tumana’s 13 water gate valves to ensure that the water supply had been fully restored.

Earlier, the mayor sent a letter to Ronan Abear, Business Operations Director—Marikina Service Area (East Zone Service Area), informing the water company of the P15 million allocation as emergency humanitarian assistance.

Mayor Maan stressed that the disconnection of the water supply is a threat to public health and human dignity.

“The sudden loss of water supply poses an immediate threat to public health, sanitation, and human dignity, particularly for children, senior citizens, and individuals with medical conditions,” she said.

“No family should be deprived of this basic necessity, especially during a season meant for dignity, care, and hope,” she added.

Marikina District Rep. Marcy Teodoro said during his term as city mayor, the local government has paid P8.8 million to Manila Water to reduce the mounting debt of Tumana to the water concessionaire, which was then only around P20 million.

The local government said that as of this month, the debt has ballooned to P37,192,199.98, which led to the disconnection of the water supply on Dec. 18.

“Noong ako ay mayor, nabawasan na ang utang pero lumobo pa rin ito noong nakaraang dalawang taon. Nagbayad kami ng P8.8 million upang matiyak na hindi maputol ang supply ng tubig (When I was mayor, the debt had already been reduced, but it continued to balloon over the past two years. We paid P8.8 million to ensure that the water supply was not cut off)," Rep. Teodoro explained.

"Noong panahong iyon, P20 million pa lang ang utang ng Tumana. Kaya nakakapagtaka na lumobo ito ngayon ng almost P40 million (At that time, Tumana’s debt was only P20 million. That is why it is puzzling that it has now ballooned to almost P40 million),” he continued.

The mayor stressed that the local government will hold accountable all officials who were liable for failing to settle the P37 million debt.

“Hahanapin at papanagutin natin ang mga responsable. May mananagot, at sisiguruhin nating hindi na ito mauulit (We will identify and hold those responsible accountable. There will be accountability, and we will ensure that this will not happen again),” she emphasized.