‘Put off water rate hikes’

Sen. Teresa Aquino Oreta made a last-ditch appeal to Malacañang yesterday to put off another round of water rate increases that private concessionaires want implemented next month, until after the issue involving permanent solutions to the problem of high electricity rates are resolved.

Oreta called on President Arroyo to stop the plan of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to grant the separate petitions of Manila Water Inc. and Maynilad Water Services to raise their rates in July, after an expected announcement on the issue this week failed to materialize.

The MWSS earlier said it was set to announce Wednesday its decision on the petitions of water concessionaires for a rate increase.

As of Thursday afternoon, the MWSS had yet to announce its decision.

Oreta, who is in the forefront of the snowballing clamor in Congress for the Palace to give top priority to consumer welfare and protection, called on Malacañang to match its pro-masa rhetoric with concrete action favoring ordinary Filipinos on the water rate issue.

The Lopez-owned Maynilad and the Ayala-controlled Manila Water want to effect another adjustment this July as the last part of a three-part rate adjustment plan earlier allowed by the Arroyo administration.

But Oreta pointed out that technically, the water concessionaires could not implement the water rate hikes on the target date because of the 15-day publication period required to inform the public of the new rates before their actual implementation.