MWSS urged to be transparent in Laiban Dam project proposal

MANILA, Philippines - A private think tank has urged the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), the state-owned water regulatory agency, to be more transparent with the details of the unsolicited proposal submitted by food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp. (SMC) for the development and operation of the Laiban Dam.

IBON Foundation said MWSS should fully disclose the details of the proposed joint-venture deal since consumers will shoulder the impact of the project on water rates.

“The SMC proposal is the latest attempt to revive the project after the MWSS abandoned it in 1989, but the deal is allegedly lacking in available public data,” IBON said.

The group said the deal might contain questionable details such as a guaranteed fee provision similar to the controversial CE-Casecnan Multipurpose Project which required government to pay for 20 years whether or not water is actually delivered.

Furthermore, IBON said that the cost of rehabilitating the Laiban dam includes the displacement of about 10,000 residents, including Dumagat communities.

“The project will also affect around 27,800 hectares of ancestral and agricultural lands,” it noted.

IBON said that infrastructure projects initiated under the Arroyo administration have been plagued by allegations of corruption and controversies.

One such deal is the $329-million broadband contract with Chinese firm ZTE for a national broadband network which was scrapped by the government.

IBON also raised questions on the supposed water shortage as the reason behind the revival of the Laiban Dam project.

“The water shortage in Metro Manila should have already been addressed if private concessionaires Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. only fulfilled their long-standing obligation to improve the infrastructure of the water system,” IBON said.