PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation (PWIC) is now about to be boiled, figuratively.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. was now reportedly sufficiently disturbed by reports of poor service in areas where the Villar-owned water concessionaire hold sway among its “victims” – er, customers.
“Mag-uutos po ang Pangulo para ma-imbestigahan po ito," was how Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro put it briefly.
Investigation? No need, residents of San Pedro City, Laguna who are serviced by PrimeWater (though “serviced” sounds more like a sick joke).
For them, the nightmare – and the exposés of PrimeWater’s sub-par water services – did not begin this year, as allies of the powerful Villar family allege.
The nightmare actually began ten years ago in 2015, when the San Pedro Water District (SPWD) entered into a joint venture agreement (JVA) with PrimeWater to, ostensibly, improve the former’s services.
“Improve” turned out to be another sick joke, as OpinYon Laguna, even on its first year of serving Lagunenses, soon uncovered a Pandora’s Box of horrors endured by residents of San Pedro City who are “serviced” by PrimeWater.
First whispers
As far back as 2018, on OpinYon Laguna's first year of service, it began running a series of stories on how PrimeWater’s customers in San Pedro City felt they were being shortchanged on services.
Personal interviews conducted by OpinYon Laguna’s reporters to PrimeWater customers in the barangays of San Antonio and Cuyab can be summarized in this paragraph (“Water Woes,” first published October 1, 2018):
“Aside from the lack of water supply during the day, residents of at least three barangays serviced by PrimeWater say the water coming out of their taps was often yellowish, greenish or brownish, with traces of gravel and rust.
“The lack of water during the day have forced many residents to do their laundry and washing either late at night or very early in the evening – sometimes as early as four a.m., according to an elderly resident of Brgy. San Antonio.”
LGU attention
By 2019, the local government unit (LGU) of San Pedro City under former Mayor Lourdes “Baby’ Cataquiz could no longer ignore the barrage of complaints from its residents concerning PrimeWater.
In a letter that was obtained by OpinYon Laguna and published in its October 14, 2019 issue – almost a year from when its first story about PrimeWater came out – Cataquiz urged then PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. President Fe Rebangos, to address the numerous complaints of their subscribers.
Among these complaints are “malodorous and stinky water coming from their faucets that is not suitable for human consumption.”
“Considering that this (water) provision is one of the primary needs in our daily subsistence, majority of the affected areas, families and individuals are clamoring for the immediate action of the service provider,” the letter said.
The city mayor also called for a meeting with PrimeWater officials to address the poor water services that affect the city.
New admin, new promise?
It was the perceived lack of assertive action by the city government concerning the issues faced by PrimeWater San Pedro’s customers that ultimately became one of the top issues of San Pedrense voters in the 2022 elections.
And when Mayor Art Joseph Francis Mercado took over that year, one of his immediate priorities was to make sure that PrimeWater abide by its promises or else.
It was, in fact, one of the specific points tackled by Mercado in his first State of the City Address (SOCA) on October 10, 2022.
“Hanggang ngayon, after seven years, may problema pa rin sa tubig. Ibig sabihin nito ay hindi pa rin sila tumutupad sa usapan, kahit patuloy ang pagbabayad sa tubig ng ating mga mamamayan,” Mercado declared in his speech.
That’s when he declared that the city government will impose a “penalty” on PrimeWater, as well as direct the company to submit weekly accomplishment reports to ensure that the city’s water woes will be resolved.
Take note that even then, OpinYon Laguna was already calling on the LGU, in its cover story of October 17, 2022 (five years after that first story), to terminate its JVA with PrimeWater.
Decade-long headache
The issue concerning PrimeWater may be dismissed as a mere political issue this coming May 12 elections, especially in the context of ongoing rivalries between the Marcoses and the Dutertes.
But politicians should bear in mind that the woes suffered by PrimeWater customers, particularly in San Pedro City, Laguna is not just a topical issue that has been played up against the Villars.
It’s a decade-long, ongoing headache that has also threatened to hold back San Pedro City’s quest to become “Una sa Laguna” in terms of socio-economic progress.
To dismiss, or ignore, the plight of PrimeWater San Pedro’s customers is to go against the main task of our government: to ensure that the public receives the basic needs it deserves.
As of press time, OpinYon Laguna has reached out to concerned local government offices, as well as PrimeWater San Pedro officials, regarding updates on this pressing issue, but has received no reply yet.
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