Is it the beginning of the end for PrimeWater San Pedro?
Last week, the city council of San Pedro, Laguna finally initiated the first step into what may be the city’s declaration of independence from the Villar-led water service provider: it has passed a resolution urging the San Pedro Water District (SPWD) to terminate its joint venture agreement (JVA) it entered with PrimeWater back in 2016.
The move is seen by many as the culmination of an almost-decades long headache PrimeWater has provided (instead of clean, potable and adequate water supply) to the thousands of residents of San Pedro City.
Here’s the thing, however: simply terminating the JVA between PrimeWater and SPWD is not enough to compensate for the nearly ten years of hardship it has imposed on San Pedrenses.
The city government of San Pedro should have the courage and the balls to make PrimeWater pay – literally.
After all, isn’t that what Mayor Art Mercado himself promised to San Pedrenses in his very first State of the City Address (SOCA) way back in 2022?
Not only that, let us consider that PrimeWater’s lackluster service has cost untold millions in lost economic opportunities for its consumers, not to mention extra costs due to the need to find alternative sources of water.
Monetary penalties should be meted out against PrimeWater, as there is now more than enough evidence to point to a systemic disregard for the welfare of its consumers.
By the way, the San Pedro City LGU should know that other local government units in the Philippines may be watching the situation behind its shoulders.
In Bacolod City, last April, the city government has ordered its own water distributor, the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA), to penalize PrimeWater for – what else? – the latter’s failure to provide the city’s residents with adequate and potable water supply.
The case of San Pedro City can become a game-changer and a precedent for other LGUs in the country who are now also saddled with the same problem of substandard service from PrimeWater.
Mayor Mercado and other officials should demonstrate clearly the most basic law of business: what you owe you must one day pay.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #OpinYonEditorial #SanPedroLGU #SanPedroWaterDistrict #Primewater