2 water concessionaires to give payment relief for 'Ondoy' victims

MANILA, Philippines - Two private concessionaires handling the water requirements of Metro Manila and some parts of Rizal have agreed to provide payment relief for customers hit by storm tropical “Ondoy.”

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) administrator Diosdado Allado said “upon their initiative,” both the Ayala-owned Manila Water and Maynilad Water of the Lopezes have agreed to a moratorium on disconnection in all areas affected by floods.

Allado said the Manila Water services the East Zone of Metro Manila, while Maynilad runs the West Zone.

The help is in consideration of the residents who may not be able or have no time to pay their bills because of the cleanup and repairs that they are undertaking for their homes, he said.

He added that the two firms are also offering an installment scheme for the payment of their customers’ October bill.

Allado said flood-affected customers would be given a maximum of 12 months to pay their water bill this month.

The water consumption of flood-affected residents is expected to go up significantly this month due to massive cleanup of their homes and surroundings.

Allado also reported that the facilities of Manila Water and Maynilad have been restored after encountering some problems because of the storm.

He said all pumping stations in the East Zone have been restored as of 6 a.m. yesterday.

However, some problems with water pressure are still being experienced in elevated areas due to increased consumption, he explained.

Massive cleanup operations are being conducted by the residents of Pasig, Marikina and Rizal, which were the hardest hit by Ondoy, resulting in high consumption and the loss of water pressure.

The situation prompted the MWSS to deploy water tankers to these areas.

In the West Zone, Allado said all pumping stations and water facilities have been restored.

Only the Putatan pumping station of Maynilad still has problems, affecting residents of Ayala-Alabang in Muntinlupa City.

However, the deep wells of Maynilad have been activated to serve the requirements of the area.

P5.5-B damage to crops

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap reported that the damage wrought by tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon “Pepeng” to agriculture and fisheries sectors has reached P5.5 billion.

Yap said that the bulk of the damage was on the rice sub-sector as crops ready for harvest were destroyed.

He said the areas with the most damage were in Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, and Laguna.

Yap pointed out that this month is the main harvest season so the damage was significant.

But the DA has provided 100 percent subsidy for seeds to the rice farmers so that they can plant right away, he said.

He expressed confidence that the farmers would be able to harvest the new crop by December or January at the latest.

Yap reported that around P870 million in irrigation was also damaged by the typhoon.        – Marvin Sy