Photo Release

On treatment facilities: Sen. Cynthia Villar, during the hybrid plenary session Monday, September 20, 2021, asks Sen. Grace Poe, sponsor of House Bill Nos. 9422 and 9423, on the status of the sewerage treatment facilities of both the Maynilad Water Services Inc. and the Manila Water Company Inc. The measures seek to grant the Maynilad Water Services Inc. and the Manila Water Company Inc. a franchise to establish, operate and maintain the waterworks and sewerage system in the West Zone Service Area of Metro Manila and Cavite and the East Zone Service Area of Metro Manila and Rizal, respectively. According to Villar, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System had extended the deadline for the completion of the sewerage treatment facilities from 2009 to 2036. “I do not know their franchise agreement. What will be the deadline for the sewerage treatment facility for both companies to comply?” Villar asked. Poe said as of June 2021, the Maynilad Water serviced 9.8 million people and their sewerage coverage as of June is about 21 percent or 21 million people. She said the sewerage service coverage for the Manila Water for the same period is 31 percent. She added that the Supreme Court mandamus gave both companies until 2037 to comply with the completion of the sewerage treatment facilities. Both companies, she said, are now 21 percent on track. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)