The true cost of water

There is a feeding frenzy among some journalists, and even in the social media, on the alleged continued corruption in the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. The frenzy appears to be orchestrated and amazingly the key points raised are all identical:

1. The current MWSS Board and I are corrupt. We even top the mindless excesses of previous administrators and Board members as far as allowances, per diems and bonuses claimed are concerned.

2. There are 436 individual consultants presently working in the MWSS.

3. The inside information, taken as gospel truth by journalists, is provided by the MWSS Labor Association.

4. The reduction in water rates is a diversion, intended to cover-up the corruption we are committing.

5.  I am the mastermind behind all these and that my supposed relationship to the President gives me the audacity to continue bleeding the MWSS, abusing its employees and sabotaging the financial viability of our water service concessionaires.

I was taught, “Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. It begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts.” While I know that all journalists are not without bias, there must still be some measure of objectivity and factual basis in the formulation of an opinion. A friend texted me yesterday, “Say one thing often enough and it becomes true.” Is this the strategy to this orchestrated frenzy?

I am saddened. It is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain a genuine desire to serve our people. I have no recourse but to defend myself, not only for self-preservation, but so that the Bosses we serve are made aware of the truth.

Again, let me address the issues raised:

1. The compensation of the MWSS Board of Trustees is governed by Executive Order No. 24 (Prescribing Rules to Govern the Compensation of Members of the Board of Trustees in GOCCs). MWSS has a GOCC Classification of C with revenues between P500M – 2.5B and with assets between P5 B – P25 B.

a. For a regular Board meeting attended, each trustee receives a per diem of P15,000 gross. The maximum total per diem per year allowed per trustee is P360,000.

b. For a committee meeting attended, each trustee receives a per diem of P9,000 gross. The maximum total per diem per year allowed per trustee is P216,000.

For both Board and Committee meetings, each trustee may only receive P576,000 per year regardless of the number of meetings a trustee attends. NO trustee has ever exceeded this. Some trustees have not even been paid for some meetings attended. There have NEVER been four Board meetings in a day or even four Committee meetings a day multiplied by four weeks in a month. And, even if there were, each trustee is still limited to a cap of P576,000 a year, or an equivalent of P48,000/month (the salary of a supervising Engineer).

For the first time since 2011, some trustees received performance-based incentives in amounts ranging from P345,000 to P504,900.  In July 2013, the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) authorized these incentives. If you check the COA reports of 2010 and the years before, you will see the magnitude of exorbitant bonuses received by the members of the Board in the previous administration. It hit a peak of P5.3M in a year.

2. Can someone please tell me who and where these 436 individual consultants are and where they come from? The COA AAR for year ended 31 December 2012 cited 28 consultants, who were paid fees ranging from P25,000 to P50,000 for services rendered. There were less consultants in 2011. Today, there are NO individual consultants in the MWSS corporate office.             

3. Are the coffers of the MWSS Labor Association, who benefitted from the alphabet bonuses, still lined with so much money that they can afford all these consecutive articles in the newspapers? I don’t think so. 

4. Regarding the water rate cuts determined by our Regulatory Office, our two concessionaires, Manila Water and Maynilad, have both filed Dispute Notices contesting such determinations, signaling the commencement of formal arbitration proceedings. Maynilad filed for an increase of P3.06/cubic meter from an initial of P10.00/cum petitioned increase. Manila Water filed for a P3.60/cubic meter from an initial petition of P5.83/cubic meter. We leave it to the arbitration process to determine the validity of each party’s position on the matter. Both adjusted rates from Maynilad and Manila Water highlight the strength and function of MWSS regulation. It already shows a substantive decrease in their initial petitions. We have an excellent team in the Regulatory Office, which has consultants from member firms of Price Waterhouse Cooper, and Rebasing Team leaders from the academe, which bolsters our confidence in our decision on downward adjustments in water rates is accurate.   

5. Lastly, I am portrayed to be the personification of the villainous Professor Moriarty, the clever and unseen puppeteer, fiendishly out to destroy private investor confidence by disregarding existing contractual obligations and influencing the MWSS Board to approve reductions in water rates. Our mandate is clear — To balance business sustainability of the concessionaires and the defense of consumer protection. This has never changed. No rules were changed. Just implemented.

I have been asked many times about the true cost of water. While the actual peso equivalent can be mathematically computed through the rate rebasing process that we’ve judiciously gone through, I believe that the TRUE cost of water is more than pipe laying, business plans, appropriate discount rates, and future capex.

The true cost of water is hidden in the hearts of men and women who sacrifice enough to engage the giants of this country. The true cost of water is unwavering integrity to see the bigger picture and be selfless with one’s own needs. The true cost of water is focusing on the huge task of water security, ignoring the arrows hurled against one’s personhood. The true cost of water is courage. Sacrifice. Love and service to this country and its people. No matter if it appears to be not worth the fight anymore.

In closing, allow me to address all the journalists: Before you write another venomous word about us, I request that you kindly check official records. Get certified documents from the MWSS or COA offices. Verify your sources of information. You have a moral obligation to do so. We invite you to our office. We will welcome you. — GERRY ESQUIVEL, Administrator, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System