President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday continued his criticism of the concession agreements that the government entered with water firms Maynilad and Manila Water during the Ramos administration.
Duterte reacted negatively to the arbitration rulings hours after his spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the government would not pay Maynilad and Manila Water despite rulings by an arbitration court in Singapore.
“Hindi magbayad ng P7 billion? P— ina, leche kayo. Ipakain ko ‘yang pera sa kanila,” Duterte said on Thursday, days after the Singaporean tribunal's ruling on the Manila Water case.
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System’s 1997 agreements with the water concessionaires prohibit any government interference in rate-setting and provide an indemnity clause in case of such interference.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the provisions were the reasons why the government was ordered by an arbitration court in Singapore to pay Manny Pangilinan-led Maynilad P3.6 billion and Ayala-owned Manila Water P7.4 billion as compensation for losses or damages.
The President maintained that the people behind the contracts should be held liable for economic sabotage.
“If you look at the law maybe mali ako but this is a classic case of economic plunder. Wala lang nakasilip nito,” Duterte said.
Duterte has already ordered the Department of Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General to draft and prepare new concession deals that are favorable to the government and the Filipino people.
Manila Water said on Thursday that it was willing to work with the Duterte administration to arrive at a "workable solution" in light of the recent arbitration ruling.
Duterte said the provisions of the contracts indicated surrender of Philippine sovereignty.
“Our country surrendered everything to Manila Water and Maynilad. Everything. Including the sovereignty,” Duterte said. —NB, GMA News
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This article first appeared on GMA Network.
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