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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 11) – President Rodrigo Duterte approved “in principle” the proposed new agreements with water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday.
“Last night, the President approved in principle the broad recommendations of the review panel for the elimination of onerous provisions in water concession contracts and the inclusion of new provisions that will improve the governance mechanism, promote transparency and equity in the setting of tariffs and will reduce the government’s contingent liability, ”Guevarra said in a statement.
The Justice Department said that with this development, it plans to “immediately begin negotiations” with Maynilad and Manila Water.
In December of last year, Duterte ordered the Justice Department and the Attorney General’s Office to develop new concession agreements that are “favorable” to the government and consumers.
The current concession agreements, signed in 1997, would expire in 2022 after the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System revoked the two companies’ contract extensions until 2037, by order of the president.
The two water utilities have been the subject of Duterte’s public tirades after they appealed to an international arbitrator to demand that the government pay them more than $ 10 billion to recoup losses from rejected water rate increases. water in 2015. They demand more payment from the government derived from their victory in the arbitration court, after Duterte threatened to sue them.
Earlier this year, the CEO has expressed his willingness to publicly resolve the disputes with Maynilad and Manila Water. About two months later, he apologized to the owners of the two companies, saying that the coronavirus pandemic has “humiliated” him.
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