Bayan Muna urges SC to stop water rate increase

MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna chairman and former congressman Neri Colmenares yesterday called on the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the impending water rate increase in Metro Manila.

Colmenares said the high tribunal should now decide on a case that Bayan Muna filed in August 2015 questioning the practice of water concessionaires of passing billions in their income tax payments to their customers.

He said payment of income taxes is clearly a business expense that should be absorbed by businessmen or investors.

“Bayan Muna filed the case three years ago, but until now, it is still gathering dust in the high court. The Supreme Court should also decide on the loan guarantee issue because consumers should not shoulder the income taxes and debts of these multi-billion companies,” Colmenares said. 

He said the government guaranteed the loans obtained by water concessionaires, and it’s the public that would pay for such debts in case of default on the part of the borrowers.

Despite making billions in profits, water distributors want their customers to pay for their income taxes, he said.

He said Manila Water earned P6.5 billion last year, and Maynilad P7.4 billion. Concessionaires have petitioned for an increase of as much as P11 per cubic meter.

Colmenares said aside from the case against water concessionaires, other petitions filed by Bayan Muna are still pending in the tribunal.

He said while the SC favored the quo warranto petition of Solicitor General Jose Calida and ousted its own chief justice in two months, justices are taking years to resolve cases involving the people’s welfare.

He said the oldest of Bayan Muna’s pending complaints is a petition questioning the Arroyo administration’s agreement with China for a joint maritime survey in the West Philippine Sea, which was filed in May 2008.

“Ten years later, the Supreme Court has not decided on Bayan Muna’s petition to disallow China’s access to our territorial sea through a supposed joint exploration with the government,” he said.

In January 2015, Bayan Muna filed a complaint against a fare increase imposed by Metro Rail Transit-3 and Light Rail Transit.

“Yet, until now, the SC has not decided on this issue and the fare increase continues to be imposed until now but the service did not improve,” Colmenares said.

He said other petitions asking the tribunal to require telecommunications companies and power distributors to refund “illegal charges” have remained unresolved. 

Also pending is a petition questioning the constitutionality of the controversial Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law for being “regressive,” he said.