Panayam kay MWSS Regulatory Office Chief Regulator Atty. Patrick Ty
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00:00 The water price hike of Manila and Manila Water in 2024, we will discuss with Attorney Patrick T., the chief regulator of MWSS, Regulatory Office.
00:11 Attorney T., good afternoon and welcome to the new Philippines.
00:15 Hello, good afternoon to our viewers.
00:20 Attorney, MWSS approved the high price of water of Manila and Manila Water in the next year.
00:29 Can you explain the reason for this approval?
00:33 This is the approval of the increase of January 1, 2024.
00:40 This is part of the rate rebasing that we did in 2022.
00:45 In 2022, we did rate rebasing and we just studied the business plans of Manila Water and Manila.
00:53 Because of this, we recommended to the MWSS Board of Trustees to do rate adjustment for Manila Water and Manila.
01:02 Part of our recommendation is to do tariff adjustment in order to reduce the burden on our consumers and to avoid sudden increases.
01:13 That's why we did tranche 1, tranche 2 up to tranche 5. This is part of tranche 2 of the rate rebasing adjustment.
01:24 Sir, for our consumers, on an average, how much is the estimated price that will be raised in the price of water in January of the next year?
01:38 Hello. That depends on the adjustment of your consumption.
01:47 Some are lower, some are higher. It depends on your consumption.
01:54 So attorney, when was the last time the price of water in the country rose and how much will it increase in the new year?
02:03 Wait a minute. It's a bit noisy.
02:09 Can you repeat?
02:11 When was the last time the price of water in the country rose and how much will it increase in the new year?
02:18 The last time the price rose was in 2023. This is tranche 1.
02:25 We made an adjustment in January 1, 2023, based on the rate rebasing in 2022.
02:36 This year, it depends on your consumption how much you will raise.
02:40 Some are 3 pesos, some are 5 pesos in their water bill if they are in the nice line.
02:47 You can raise up to 75 pesos in your water bill if you consume 30 cubic meters or up to 100 pesos, depending on your consumption.
03:02 Okay. Sir, how can this water price hike help in preparing the MWSS for the effect of El Niño in the country?
03:14 That's right. That's the most important thing that we prioritized this year because early this year,
03:22 it was forecasted and projected that El Niño will occur.
03:27 Because of this, we talked to Manila Water and Maynilad and we required them to fast-track their projects to minimize the effect of El Niño.
03:38 They need to develop alternative water sources. Manila Water developed the Wawa-Calawis Dam and East Bay, which gets water from the eastern portion of Laguna de Bay.
03:55 Maynilad also required us to develop alternative water sources that also get water from Laguna de Bay,
04:03 like a modular treatment plant that will produce an additional 20 MLD, plus the Poblacion water treatment plant,
04:12 which will be inaugurated tomorrow with our president.
04:16 This will provide an additional 50 MLD for consumers in the south.
04:22 We know that there are many problems there.
04:25 That's why we prioritized it to ensure that we will have water and avoid any water crisis in Metro Manila.
04:33 So attorney, for our countrymen to understand, can you explain the process of hike approval for the price of water in Manila Waters and Maynilad?
04:43 What are the criteria before approving a water price hike? Because our countrymen will react here.
04:49 That's right. What we are doing is we are currently having rate rebasing every five years.
04:55 This time, last 2022, Manila Water and Maynilad must submit their business plans for the next five years.
05:04 After that, this is the study of MWSS Regulatory Office and we are also hiring consultants.
05:11 For this consultant, what we did last time is wood fields. We hired a consultant to examine and review the business plans of the two concessionaires
05:23 to make sure that this will benefit our consumers.
05:27 After this, we will have public hearings and public consultations with our consumers.
05:33 We had several public consultations in 2022 to consult with the public on the important projects that we need.
05:42 Because of this, MWSS-RO recommended to our MWSS Board of Trustees for the approval of the business plan and the corresponding tariff adjustment
05:53 and the tranches of how much water will be adjusted.
05:57 I just like to take note and point out that what we did last time is not like what we did last time.
06:05 As soon as the rate rebasing is approved, they can get all of this, even if they did it or not.
06:12 What MWSS-RO did is we are studying it first and we want to make sure that Manila Water and Maynilad will do their project first
06:21 before they can make tariff adjustment. So this year, part of our evaluation is if Manila Water and Maynilad did their project.
06:31 So we checked and we confirmed. We went to their project sites and water treatment plants and we checked if they delivered or not.
06:43 Based on our studies and evaluation and investigation, they are ready.
06:50 That's why there will be no water crisis next year because Manila Water and Maynilad delivered their projects.
06:57 That's why we allowed them to implement the second tranche of their rate rebasing.
07:05 Alright, so as you said, can you promise that Manila Water and Maynilad will continue to be a consumer of El Nino in the first quarter of 2024?
07:23 Yes, I can reassure the public that there will be no water crisis in Metro Manila.
07:28 These projects will mitigate the effects of El Nino.
07:33 We are planning it and we have prepared since early this year for the arrival of El Nino.
07:41 Sir if I may clarify, do you have an update from Manila regarding the complaints of consumers of yellow and smelly water from Manila?
07:52 What is the reason for this?
07:54 This is because of the... I think this is because of the water leak, the explosion of their water pipes in Mayligarda.
08:05 They are fixing it and prioritizing it for Manila. It's scheduled to be resolved by the end of the day.
08:14 We are asking for our affected consumers to be compensated because this is due for replacement.
08:26 That's one of the requirements of Manila as well, to do extensive pipe replacement.
08:33 This is part of the process. There's a little pain now, but I can assure you that this will be fixed and we are working on it.
08:43 All right sir. Before your message, can you share with us the latest projects of MWSS and what are the updates on these?
08:54 The latest project, as I mentioned earlier, in Manila Water, they have a phase one and phase two of East Bay and Wawa, Calawis.
09:07 These are new alternative water sources. They are also doing a lot of waste treatment, sewage treatment plants to fix the service.
09:17 We know that we need to clean the water before we release it to the environment.
09:24 In Manila, their biggest project that will be inaugurated tomorrow is the Poblacion Treatment Plant. This is scheduled to... actually it's operating and will be inaugurated tomorrow.
09:36 This will provide 50 MLD this December and another 100 MLD before the start of the El Niño.
09:43 So their additional projects, they have Julian Dams and Nabu. These will provide around 20 MLD of additional water for our consumers.
09:56 They also need to provide additional sewage treatment plants. That's part of their requirements and responsibilities. They are continuously doing that.
10:06 So attorney, please message and remind all consumers who are watching us now.
10:12 My message is that we should understand that the most expensive water is the one without water.
10:19 We are doing this to ensure that we can face the El Niño so that its effect will be reduced and to provide proper service to our consumers.
10:31 Thank you very much for your time, Attorney Patrick T., the Chief Regulator of the MWSS Regulatory Office.