FINALLY!

Long overdue.

That was the shared reaction of many San Pedrenses following news that the city government of San Pedro, Laguna is about to commence steps to rescind the joint-venture agreement between the San Pedro Water District (SPWD) and PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp.

After almost a decade of suffering poor water quality (or even the lack thereof), it has become clear that Mayor Art Mercado is about to mete out the “extreme penalty” to the private water concessionaire for continuing to fail in its responsibility to provide adequate and potable water to its customers.

In his State of the City Address (SOCA) in 2022, Mercado warned PrimeWater to “shape up” and improve its services, or else face the termination of its JVA with the SPWD. Two years on, it appears that the city government is about to make good on its warning.

Letter to SP

The first inkling of that “extreme penalty” was a letter sent by Mercado’s office to the Sangguniang Panglungsod last May 10.

The letter asked the city council to pass a resolution “strongly urging” SPWD to “immediately commence the process” of rescinding the JVA it entered with PrimeWater back in 2015.

In an attached letter to the SPWD that was sent on May 6, Mercado cited the continuing failure of PrimeWater to fulfill its obligations under the JVA, drawing not only the endless complaints it has received from San Pedrenses but also reports from the SPWD and the Commission on Audit (COA).

"The COA even recommended that SPWD 'demand at once that the PrimeWater fulfill its obligations' and that the '[f]ailure or nonperformance of the PrimeWater with what is incumbent upon them will be a ground for the possible recession of the JVA contract in accordance with Article 1179 of the Civil Code," Mercado, citing the COA report, stated in the letter.

Unfortunately, "there can be no doubt that the timelines given to PrimeWater, within which it must rectify and make good anything and everything it failed to do under the JVA, have long lapsed without PrimeWater resolving them," he added.

(Take note that PrimeWater officials, in an interview with OpinYon Laguna way back in 2022, even pledged to resolve the long-standing issues such as providing 24/7 water service to some of its residents before 2023 ends. What year is it now?)

The fact that the city executive is clearly fed up not only by the poor service but also the endless (broken) promises of PrimeWater can be seen in his strongly-worded conclusion in his letter to the SPWD: "Rescinding the JVA is the only way we will be able to solve and end the long-standing water crisis. Nothing else."

During the recent Sangguniang Panglungsod session on May 21, Councilor Vivi Villegas reported that the city council is now waiting for PrimeWater’s reply to Mercado’s letter before it calls for an en banc hearing regarding the issue.

What next?

Political analysts who spoke to OpinYon Laguna said that the city government should prepare for a long and uphill legal battle with PrimeWater, should the Sangguniang Panglungsod issue a resolution urging the SPWD to break its ties with the private concessionaire.

“Hindi basta-basta pakakawalan ng PrimeWater ang hawak nito sa SPWD, lalo na’t we have to consider that this company is owned by a conglomerate na malakas ang kapit sa national politics. At tiyak na idadahilan nila na marami na silang na-invest to improve water service in its concessionaire area,” one analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity told OpinYon Laguna.

And of course, one inevitable question San Pedrenses are bound to ask is: What will happen should efforts to revoke the JVA with PrimeWater succeed?

The answer is quite obvious: SPWD will once again manage its water system on its own.

That would be a Herculean task, considering that it was exactly the same problems with the quality of its water service that prompted the city government to enter into the JVA with PrimeWater in the first place back in 2015.

However, that same political analyst said that parting ways with PrimeWater should be looked at as an opportunity by SPWD to do away with its past reputation and fulfill its mandate to San Pedrenses.

“Sa totoo lang, mas magagawa pa ng SPWD na ma-improve ang pagseserbisyo nito sa mga costumers nila kung independent na ulit sila at hindi na under ng isang private business gaya ng PrimeWater,” the analyst opined.

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