(Eagle News) — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday, Jan. 8, gave the assurance the concession deals crafted by the Department of Justice won’t “kill” water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad should they decide to accept them.
In an interview over ANC, Guevarra said what they did with the new deals was to remove the provisions that were “highly disadvantageous” and to replace them with “more equitable” ones.
“It’s something that will give life, life in the sense that it will be a better contract,” Guevarra said.
Manila Water and Maynilad have yet to accept the contracts, which were drawn up after the DOJ found several illegal provisions in the existing ones, including a ban on the government from setting water rates, and an indemnification clause should the government interfere.
The DOJ also slammed as irregular the extension of the contracts way before they were set to lapse in 2037.
President Duterte has said if the two water concessionaires do not accept the new contracts, he would cancel the existing ones and the government would nationalize water services.
