Manila Water Company, Inc. President and CEO Ferdinand dela Cruz.INQUIRER file photo / Jam Sta. Rosa
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Manila Water Company, Inc. President Ferdinand dela Cruz on Wednesday did not comment on the possible termination of the company鈥檚 concessionaires鈥� contracts but said he is willing to resign from his post if this would solve the water crisis.
鈥淚 have to go,鈥� was Dela Cruz鈥檚 response when asked about President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 order for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to submit a report before April 7, so he could 鈥渄ecide whether heads will roll or whether the contracts of the concessionaires will be terminated.鈥�
搁贰础顿:听Outraged鈥� Duterte threatens to fire MWSS execs听触 Lawmakers ask Duterte to fire MWSS execs
The Manila Water official also pointed out that the instructions of the President were 鈥渧ery loud and clear,鈥� and their firm is 鈥渢aking them seriously.鈥�
鈥淚 think the instructions of the President is very clear, we have to fix this, we have to recover from this, and to make sure that this doesn鈥檛 happen again, we鈥檙e taking that seriously, on two fronts in terms of our service recovery we already have a 90 to 95 percent service restoration, which we now define as at least 8 to 12 hours of water at the ground floor in many areas,鈥� Dela Cruz added.
But during the hearing of the House public accounts committee, Dela Cruz said he would be 鈥渆xtremely happy to resign鈥� if this would address the water supply deficit and would fast-track construction of new water sources.
鈥淢r. chairman, if my resignation today will not only erase our supply deficit but also result to a united front to urgently build new water sources, then I would be extremely happy to resign at this very moment,鈥� he said.
Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said resigning was the 鈥渕inimum he can do鈥� because of the water service interruption since March 6.
搁贰础顿:听Solon: MWSS getting at least P1B from Manila Water, Maynilad yearly
Dela Cruz repeatedly attributed their water supply deficit to the critical level of the La Mesa Reserve, which prevented the concessionaire from getting 150 million liters per day (MLD) of water from it.
搁贰础顿:听No relief yet: La Mesa water level keeps dropping
鈥淲ithout this additional 150 million liters per day of untreated water from the La Mesa Reserve, we cannot fully serve the peak demand, at sufficient pressure, of your constituents,鈥� he said. /jpv
搁贰础顿:听Manila Water: Over 93% of NCR鈥檚 East Zone now gets regular supply