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Amid Metro water crisis, lawmaker pushes MWSS charter, Public Service law revision
BY JovEE MARIE N. DELA CRUz
I @joyeema e
MEMBER of the House
Committee on Metro
Manila Development;
citing the urgency for a fair and
modern water utility services for
consumers, on WednesdaY urged
the 17th Congress to approve
pending measures to amend the
1971 charter of the state-run
Metropolitan Waterworks and
Sewerage System (MWSS) and
the Public Service Law of 1963.
Noting how the early 1990s
,rarater crisis during the term
of former President Fidel
V Ramos led to the MWSS
privatization and the entrY
of water concessionaires in
Metro Manila, House Assistant
Maiority Leader and Bagong
Henerasyon Party-list Rep.
Bernadette Herrera-Dy said it
is again timely to amend the
MWSS charter to explicitly
define water concessionaires as
n tsitte*tVfirror
public utilities.
There are three pending bills
calling for the creation of a
Water Regulatory Commission
with nationwide coverage,
not iust for Metro Manila
The measures are Pending
before the House Committee
on Government EnterpriJs
and Privatization, and House
Committee on Public Wor$s
Meanwhile, the House has
already approved House Bill
5828, or the act providing for
the definition of Public utilitY
amending for the pu rpose
Commonwealth Act 146.
The bill provides a clear
definition of public utilitY
that covers three sectors:
distribution of electricitY
system, transmission of
electricity system, and water
pipeline distribution system or
sewerage PiPeline sYstem.
Herrera-Dy said these bills
could stillbe passed when session
resumes on May 20.
Moreover, Herrera-DY said,
public utility status for the water
ronressionaires will mean their
ability to charge their customers
can be reasonably limited.
According to the lawmaker, the
Iegal franchise to provide water
seruices is with the MWSS, which
farms it out to the concessionaires.
"The Water Crisis Act of.
1995 and its implementing
EO [Executive Order] 311,
Series of 1996 did not
transfer the franchise to the
concessionaites. It temained
with MWSS. What I want to
happen is for the franchise to
be legislative in the same way
that other public utilities seek
franchises from Congress now,"
Herrera-Dy said.
She said the passage of these
measures would also ensure
accountability to the Public
tlrrough their representatives
in Congress.
"For operat ional matters,
the Water RegulatotY
Commission can be emPowered
to level the playing field foi
both consumets and service
providers, and authorized to
penalize the franchise holders
for prolonged and large-scale
service interruptions," Herrera-
Dy added.
"We should Prio(itize
overhauling the circa 193 6
Public Service Law, which is
so antiquated and obsolete
that it really no longer works.
It is a Commonwealth-era
law," she added.
"The bonsai effect of this
antique law limits notiust business
growth but a1l the qualitY and
efficigncy of services to the public.
Ultimately, the FiliPino PeoPIe
suffer," she said.
The lady solon said new
law should have ao automatic
review clause so that everY ten
years, it will be revisited bY a
joint Congressional oversight
committee for continuing
relevance and efficacY.
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