Maynilad customers in Las Piñas to get refund

MANILA, Philippines — Some customers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. in Las Piñas City will get refunds over its failure to provide round-the-clock water supply last month, officials said yesterday.

The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) ordered Maynilad to give customers a P2,500 rebate per water service connection.

The MWSS Board issued the penalty following the water firm’s failure to comply with its service obligations under the concession agreement.

The agency said Maynilad customers were affected by water service interruptions in portions of Barangay Captain Albert Aguilar in May.

MWSS chief regulator Patrick Ty said the rebates would be deducted from the succeeding water bills of the customers.

“We will facilitate the implementation of the rebate as soon as possible,” Ty said.

Maynilad said it has yet to determine the total number of affected households.

“We will coordinate with our regulators to determine how the MWSS arrived at the computation,” Jennifer Rufo, spokesperson for Maynilad, said.

Maynilad earlier argued that there was no basis for the imposition of the penalty since the water service interruption did not last for 15 days and only affected 12 percent of its customers in the concession area.

The water shortage stemmed from the proliferation of algae in Laguna de Bay in April due to the warmer temperature induced by El Niño.

Maynilad explained that excessive algae required additional cleaning and de-clogging of its water treatment facilities in Putatan.

‘Sickening smell’

Meanwhile, residents in some parts of Muntinlupa City have complained of difficulty in breathing, asthma attacks, stomach pains and nasal clogging reportedly due to decaying algae in Laguna de Bay.

They said the coastal waters in Barangay Bayanan have turned green due to the algal bloom.

Local health officials, however, said the health problems of the residents were not directly linked to the algae.

They said the algae gives off a stench, but is not harmful to health. – Rhodina Villanueva