Maynilad vows to punish 'sloppy' contractors

MANILA, Philippines - Maynilad Water Services Inc. apologized yesterday and promised it would punish erring contractors for their “sloppy repair” of roads dug up for the firm’s pipe-laying operations.

“Rest assured that we are taking this matter with our contractor very seriously. We will penalize (the contractor) for their substandard work to prevent a similar incident from happening again,” said Cherubim Ocampo, Maynilad’s corporate affairs and public relations chief.

In a letter sent to The STAR, Ocampo identified the erring contractor as JRDC Progress and Development.

The letter was in response to a report in The STAR last Dec. 14 on Maynilad contractors’ substandard work repairing M.H. Del Pilar street in Barangay Arkong Bato, Valenzuela City.

“Maynilad is committed to upholding its safety and high quality standards in all of its service improvement projects. We have a team of over 120 inspectors that monitors the status and quality of our projects. Nonetheless, we encourage the public to help bring erring contractors to our attention so we can deal with them (contractors) accordingly,” Ocampo said.

Ocampo assured the public the contractor “is working as fast as possible to rectify the situation (excess concrete mix poured on the road without rebar).”

Ocampo added that concrete pouring was scheduled since Wednesday this week for the remaining 120 meters of road pavement gaps.

Ocampo said a barangay tanod witnessed the “rectification work” done earlier this week.

The MWSI official said they will also continue communicating with Valenzuela City Councilor Alvin Feliciano “for developments regarding the project.”   – Jerry Botial