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THE
National Water Resources Board (NWRB) can legally hear
the complaint filed by several groups and individuals
seeking to stop the then Lopez-owned Maynilad Water
Services Inc. from increasing its water rates by P30.19
per cubic meter in its service area, which is west of
the Pasig River. It was to have been effective January
1, 2005.
The
Court of Appeals has affirmed the jurisdiction of the
water board in a decision penned by Associate Justice
Marlene Gonzales-Sison of the Fifteenth Division.
The
complaint was jointly filed by the Center for Popular
Empowerment, Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralitang
Lungsod and the Kapisanang Panlipunan ng Commonwealth,
Quezon City Inc.
Maynilad
had argued the NWRB has no jurisdiction to review the
rates of a private corporation since its power to fix
rates covers only public utilities. It additionally
insisted that water rates are governed by the concession
agreement, and halting its implementation would violate
the contract.
The
complainants insisted that even if the rates were
subject to the concession agreement, it is still the
Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Service (MWSS) that
formally sets the rate and not the concessionaire, which
merely acts as its agent.
They
said MWSS cannot simply delegate its authority to
Maynilad, as this would amount to undue delegation of
power. Thus, if the MWSS tariff-fixing function is
subject to review by the NWRB, then it follows that its
agent, Maynilad, is also subject to its review.
In its
resolution dated July 29, 2005, the NWRB dismissed
Maynilad’s motion to dismiss the case and declared that
it has jurisdiction over water rate disputes. The NWRB
also junked Maynilad’s motion for reconsideration in a
resolution dated October 14, 2005.
The
water concessionaire then brought the case to the Court
of Appeals, arguing the complaint should be dismissed
for lack of jurisdiction.
Maynilad
further contended that NWRB and the Public Service
Commission, which was originally empowered to regulate
rate of public service utilities, are not one and the
same entity.
On this
basis, it argued Section 12 of the MWSS charter does not
cover the water firm. The provision states that “the
Public Service Commission (now NWRB), shall have
exclusive original jurisdiction over all cases
contesting said rates.”
The CA,
however, did not give credence to the contentions of
Maynilad saying that based on legislative history, the
power of control and supervision over public utilities
was handed down from the Bureau of Rate Regulation (BRR),
to the PSC, and finally to the NWRB.
The
appellate court held that Maynilad ceased to be solely
private after it entered into a concession agreement
with the MWSS, a public entity created for a public
purpose. It stressed that its business operations is
imbued with public interest.
Maynilad
had been relinquished by the Lopez group, meanwhile,
after they incurred billions of pesos in liabilities and
had now been rebid to another concessionaire. |
