Unfairly penalized

Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. (MWC) are both asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its earlier decision ordering them to pay a fine of P921.5 million plus other penalties for supposedly violating the Clean Air Act (CWA). 

The two water concessionaires allegedly failed to connect the sewer lines of homes and commercial establishments to the existing sewage line in the metropolis, as supposedly mandated under the CWA.  

 However, both firms  have raised valid points on why the SC should rethink its decision, starting with the fact that the same tribunal had earlier given the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and its two concessionaires until 2037 to complete  the connection of all private and government sewerage systems lines to  the existing sewer lines, along with the setting up of other wastewater management facilities. 

This deadline is clearly stated in the case of MMDA et al  vs Concerned Residents of Manila Bay, which is better known as the Manila Bay case. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said: “The MWSS shall submit to the court on or before June 30, 2011 the list of areas in Metro Manila, Rizal and Cavite that do not have the necessary wastewater treatment facilities. Within the same period, the concessionaires of the MWSS shall submit their plans and projects for the construction of wastewater treatment facilities in all the aforesaid areas and the completion period for said facilities, which shall not go beyond 2037.”

It was also the high court that pointed out that the cleanup of Manila Bay is a joint effort. Neither MWC, Maynilad, nor the MWSS for that matter,  can do the job alone of fully complying with the CWA and the Manila Bay cleanup without the other agencies involved doing their part in performing the massive task. 

So why are the two firms being singled out when state offices and local government units (LGUs) have apparently failed to do their job under the CWA, while Maynilad and Manila Water have done their tasks?

Recall that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the LGUs were all assigned tasks under the CWA to carry out the law’s provisions. Did they accomplish anything? Obviously not.  

Under Republic Act (RA) 9275 or the CWA, the DILG is mandated to order all mayors of Metro Manila and the governors of affected provinces to inspect and determine if wastewater treatment facilities (e.g. septic tanks) are in place in their respective communities. In case of non-compliance, the concerned LGUs shall take action to ensure compliance, the law states.

The DILG was  also required by the SC  in its ruling on the 2011  Manila Bay case to submit a five-year plan of action that will contain measures intended to ensure compliance of all non-complying factories, commercial establishments and private homes to the CWA. Where is this plan? 

The DILG and LGUs were, likewise required to consider providing land for the wastewater treatment facilities, of the two concessionaires or their regulator, the MWSS. Have they provided the lots to set up such facilities?  

Meanwhile, the DPWH, in coordination with LGUs,  was also tasked under the CWA to  prepare a national program on sewage and septage management. The DPWH has not implemented this program. 

The  DENR, as lead agency responsible for implementing the CWA has not completed drawing up  a Water Quality Management Area (WQMA) Action Plan, which includes setting the goals and targets for a sewerage or septage program. 

Was it not grossly unfair then of the DENR to penalize the two concessionaires through its Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) for their alleged failure  to construct wastewater facilities in 2009 and  to establish an interconnected sewerage system?

The establishment of wastewater facilities involves the construction of sewage treatment plants (STPs), but the two concessionaires cannot speed up the construction of STPs and complete them in a short span of five years,  as what the DENR’s PAB wants to happen because simultaneous construction will cause heavy inconvenience to the public resulting from the ensuing road excavations.

 Thus, building STPs has to be done in phases to avoid traffic congestion in the affected areas.

Another factor to consider is that the wastewater treatment facilities that the concessionaires have built, so far, would be rendered ineffective in realizing the goals of the CWA if informal settlers continue to directly dump their wastes into our rivers, lakes and esteros. 

Again, this is something that should be handled by the LGUs in the concerned communities.

Moreover, fast-tracking the completion of STPs would require a huge amount of money, which means consumers will end up paying much higher monthly water bills as Maynilad and Manila Water would have to adjust their rates so they could recoup their investments before the end of their concessions.  

Maynilad, for one, has 20 ISO-certified operational wastewater facilities with a combined capacity to treat 542,000 cubic meters per day (CMD). Since 2007, or a year before the SC issued the cleanup order, Maynilad has already invested P23.3 billion in wastewater treatment projects to service its customers in Metro Manila’s west zone. 

As of April 2017,  it has been operating 20 wastewater treatment facilities, which consist of 17 STPs, two sewage and septage treatment plants and one septage treatment plant. A total of 22,575 new SSCs have been linked to the existing system since 2009.

Maynilad has committed to connect 1,000 sewer services connections (SSCs) from 2009 to 2012 and 4,000 new ones from 2013 to 2021, despite the fact that the DPWH has not yet issued a compliance plan for the mandatory connection of identified establishments and households to the existing sewerage system.

To comply with the SC deadline on 100 percent completion by 2037, Maynilad will: implement four sewerage projects over the 2018-2022 period.  This will meet the   47 percent completion target by 2021; 11 sewerage projects will be completed for the period 2023-2027 to meet the 68 percent target by 2026; 12 sewerage projects will be done to from 2028-2032 to attain the 87 percent target; and 4 projects will be completed between 2033 to 2037 to meet the 100 percent completion rate by 2036.  

Right now, it is on track to complete its target of 100-percent sewerage coverage for the west zone by the end of its 25-year concession in 2037. It has so far completed 20 percent, a significant improvement from six percent in 2006 before Maynilad’s re-privatization. 

 According to Maynilad president-CEO Ramoncito Fernandez, the company will invest P26.4 billion in the next five years to build new STPs and lay sewer lines in the cities of Caloocan, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, and in Kawit, Cavite. This year alone, Maynilad will shell out about P11.4 billion for wastewater treatment projects. 

Once the new and planned facilities are completed in 2020,  Maynilad’s sewerage coverage will increase to 26 percent. Fernandez said Maynilad would set aside P100 billion as capital expenditures from 2017 to 2022, roughly P40 billion of which will be invested in wastewater plant and conveyance.

Maynilad announced just last week that it is setting aside  P200 billion  to build 26 new STPs and install 425 kilometers of new sewer lines from 2019 to 2037. Meanwhile, Manila Water is spending P115 billion on its wastewater programs till 2037. 

Like Maynilad, MWC is building more STPs, as it plans to spend P115 billion from hereon to complete its sewerage program by 2037.

For comments, email at [email protected]