Water Utility Firm Primewater Yet to Address Concerns in Angeles, Pampanga

A probe into the local operations of Primewater was recently launched by the city council of Angeles, Pampanga following the inconvenience it has caused residents, particularly as the company’s water supply continues to be riddled with service interruptions, and low water pressure, and dirty water. With this, resolution PR-1530-05-22 was approved by the Sangguniang Panglungsod, which compels Primewater Angeles City to provide information on the worsening water conditions.

According to city councilors Jesus Sangil and Alfie Bonifacio, 70,000 consumers from the 22 of 33 total barangays are significantly affected by these issues. Primewater — owned by the family of Senator Cynthia Villar — assumed operations of the Angeles Water District in November 2020. Since then, the water supply in the city has been steadily declining.

“Every night is a struggle,” explained Barangay Claro M. Recto resident Harvey Santiago, noting that low water pressure would begin by 9:30 pm until supply is completely halted by 10 pm. “What’s more frustrating is that we are paying much higher now plus VAT (value added tax) compared to when it wasn’t sold to Primewater, but we get poorer service now, and a lot of inconveniences. When it was [under the] ACWD (Angeles City Water District), there was no VAT because it wasn’t privately-owned then, but now the standard is 12% VAT.”

Barangay Salapungan resident Virginia Magsino echoed similar sentiments. “From 10 pm to midnight, we don’t have water. It comes back in the morning, but sometimes we also lose supply without any advance notice. When we lose power, we lose water,” explained Magsino. “ut even when the power returns, we still don’t have water, so I end up taking a bath with a gallon of mineral water.” Countless consumers like Santiago and Magisno have turned to post their complaints on social media in hopes of being addressed by Primwater and the local government.

While a number of public hearings have already been conducted regarding these issues, Sangil elaborated that Primewater has since been uncooperative with the city council. “We need a compelling explanation from them and to face us fair and square,” said the city councilor. “The agreement is for them to provide a potable, sustainable supply of clean water, right? It’s been two years, but the problem has just worsened, and the same problems are being raised by other local government units.”

“We keep on telling them (Primewater), but their cooperation just stopped; they don’t want to attend hearings anymore. What do we tell them? Give us a timeline [for] these areas that are affected,” Sangil explained further. Bonifacio, on the other hand, believes that the worsening water conditions are due to the fact that the company fast-tracked the acquisition of operations leading to poor service. “They rushed it. Before you buy out something, you [should] have already identified the issues, whether it’s the pipeline, the tools, so that once you start to take over, you are ready.”

Grounded pumps and motors, technical problems, scheduled electric interruptions, and flushing activities have been among the prominent reasons that have been forwarded by Primewater Angeles City on its Facebook page with regard to the current water situation in the city. The company is still yet to address the issues at hand.

Source: Rappler