Water service interruptions will likely continue in Metro Manila because the recent rains have not raised the water level at the Angat Dam, the National Water Resources Board said Thursday.
Angat Dam, the region’s main water source, was at 202.6 meters as of 6 a.m., said state weather bureau below the 212-meter normal high watermark.
In an interview over radio dzMM, NWRB Executive Director Sevillio David Jr. said water supply would have to be managed until summer until the rains come.
Parts of Metro Manila have been experiencing water service interruptions since October 2019.
On Thursday, the Palace said President Rodrigo Duterte would stay true to his word and slap syndicated estafa charges against Manila Water and Maynilad over their “onerous” water concession deals with the government.
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“If the President says something, he will do it,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told Palace reporters.
In his speech Monday, President Duterte said the two utility firms qualify for syndicated estafa.
“If they make a mistake, those morons, I will really jail them. You see, they do not react to any insult from me. For sure, syndicated estafa,” Duterte said while he was in North Cotabato.
“They were only the distributor but as it turned out, they were the richest people as if they own water,” the President added.
He was expected to make an announcement on Jan. 6 regarding the matter.
The Department of Justice earlier said there were onerous provisions in the 1997 water deal.
Duterte has also threatened to file economic sabotage, plunder and graft charges against the people behind the concession deals and to order a military takeover of water distribution if the problem is not resolved.
READ: Military may run water firms”‹
The President earlier expressed his approval for the construction of the China-funded Kaliwa Dam and Razon-led Wawa Dam, saying the structures would be the “last resort” to stabilize water supply in Metro Manila.
Panelo said Duterte is willing to review the Kaliwa Dam project loan deal if indeed there are onerous provisions in the contract.
“If he sees that the contract is one-sided just like the water concession agreement, he will review it since he does not like onerous provisions,” Panelo said.
This came after Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate claimed that the Kaliwa Dam project has provisions which supposedly put the government at a disadvantage.
“If somebody points out onerous provisions, the President will look at it,” Panelo said.
The dam projects in Rizal and Quezon were seen to affect at least 56 indigenous people households and will place around 284 tribal households at risk of flooding, according to the Environment Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
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