MANILA, Philippines — West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. has scored a major victory after the Singapore High Court upheld the international arbitration panel’s decision to reimburse the utility firm for the non- implementation of rate increases.
The Pangilinan-led company said the decision became final after the Philippines decided to no longer appeal the dismissal of its application within the 30-day period.
Maynilad said the Singapore High Court also ordered the Philippines to pay the water utility firm 40,000 Singapore dollars or about P1.6 million by way of costs.
“This latest victory vindicates Maynilad’s position that there are no valid and meritorious grounds to challenge or set aside the arbitral award,” Maynilad president and chief executive officer Ramon Fernandez said.
“Maynilad will now work towards an efficient collection of its claim in a manner that recognizes the interest of its various stakeholders including its shareholders and customers, taxpayers and the government,” he added.
To recall, the Philippines filed an application in February this year to set aside the first partial award which was unanimously issued by a three-man arbitral tribunal.
It was July 2017 when Maynilad received a favorable response in its arbitration proceeding against the Philippine government, for the supposed losses it incurred in the postponement of the increase in its basic charge as awarded during a previous arbitration.
The arbitral tribunal unanimously upheld the validity of Maynilad’s claim against the undertaking letter issued by the government, through the Department of Finance, to compensate Maynilad for the delayed implementation of its relevant tariffs for the rebasing period 2013 to 2017.
The tribunal ordered the Philippine government to reimburse Maynilad P3.4 billion for losses from March 2015 to August 2016, and ruled that Maynilad is entitled to recover its losses from September 2016 onwards.
Maynilad earlier clarified that the P3.4 billion is just a partial award as the company claims it continues to lose revenues at an average of P200 million monthly of further delay of the implementation of its alternative rate rebasing adjustment.
The company is the largest private water concessionaire in the country in terms of customer base. It serves the areas of Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, Malabon, and certain portions of Manila, Quezon City, Makati and Cavite.
Maynilad is owned and managed by Maynilad Water Holdings Co. Inc. a joint venture between Metro Pacific Investments Corp., DMCI Holdings and Marubeni Corp.