The Water for the People Network (WPN) scored the joint venture agreements (JVAs) between government water districts and PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation \u2013 formerly Villar-owned and now controlled by Lucio Co \u2013 for chronic violations of the people’s right to water. The water network said that it is urgent for the Marcos administration to intervene at the national level and put a stop to PrimeWater’s repeated failure to provide sufficient, safe, and affordable water to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WPN expressed its support for the people of Quezon and Bulacan, Bacolod and La Union, Cavite, Laguna and Terra Nova, and over a hundred other areas covered by JVAs with PrimeWater and other oligarch-owned water firms demanding the termination of these agreements and accountability for years of poor water service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Violations of the right to water under these public-private JVAs, mounting consumer complaints, and government failure to protect the people by getting rid of problematic public-private partnership (PPP) have persisted for years \u2013 in some cases, for almost a decade. WPN Spokesperson Leo Espelimbergo said that this shows the government’s unresponsiveness, with authorities merely trying to placate the people\u2019s anger after years of petitions, community mobilizations, and lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Espelimbergo pointed out that water bills have at least doubled across JVAs nationwide under privatization. Meanwhile, PrimeWater has benefited from favorable regulatory and court rulings to increase its profits from Php196 million in 2017 to Php1.34 billion in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Metro Manila, private concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad have hiked water charges by around 11-22%, making the companies\u2019 combined profits nearly triple from Php11.8 billion in 2022 to Php31.1 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WPN said this week\u2019s mobilizations versus PrimeWater in Quezon and Bulacan show that the people are not tolerating the impunity of private water companies. They are determined to fight against the discredited model of water privatization and assert their right to affordable, reliable and publicly accountable water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water for the people, not profit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
#SerbisyoSaTaoHuwagGawingNegosyo #WaterForThePeople<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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