THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Regulatory Office on Thursday said the scheduled payment of water bills, as well as possible disconnection of water service in Metro Manila, depends on the government’s decision to lift or further extend the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) or Modified ECQ.
Patrick Ty, chief of the MWSS Regulatory Office, said the decision allowing private water contractors, Manila Water Company, Inc. and Maynilad Water Services, Inc., to start billing and collecting payments by June 1, 2020 was based on the assumption that the lockdown in Metro Manila and nearby areas covered by their service contracts has been lifted.
Disconnection notices will be issued mid-July and actual disconnections will be done only in August and September, depending on the type of customer.
Nevertheless, Ty assured the public no disconnection will happen while the lockdown is in effect.
He said the MWSS Regulatory Office will reassess the situation should the government further extend the ECQ or MECQ in Metro Manila.
‘3-Gives’ bill
The MWSS chief regulator is also not keen on supporting the “Three-Gives Payment” bill that will cover water utilities during emergency situations like a public health emergency or the onslaught of typhoons and other natural calamities. The proposed measure aims to break down the unpaid bills during the emergency situation to three equal payments so that the utility service, such as the case of water utility, will not be interrupted.
On the ECQ bills, he said their proposal is to resume reading and billing operation by June 1 upon the lifting of ECQ, and proceed with service disconnection upon failure to pay, under the current Covid-19 ECQ situation. This, he said, will be the recommendation to be submitted to the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce, which opened hearings on the “3-Gives” bill of Sen. Francis Tolentino on Thursday. The bill mandates utilities to break into three monthly installments the bills of customers that pile up during a national emergency such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grace period and installments for ECQ bills payment is put in place to provide economic relief for customers. For non-lifeline accounts, customers have two months – June and July to pay their unpaid ECQ bills while for the lifeline accounts, customers have three months – June to August, to settle their unpaid ECQ bills.
Ty believes water consumers can pay their water bills because unlike electricity, water bills are a lot cheaper or affordable.
Besides, he said water consumers, upon the lifting of the ECQ which is projected to happen on June 1, will be able to resume work and earn.
He added that while read-and-bill operations of both concessionaires will resume in June, service disconnections for lifeline accounts will resume only on August 1 for non-lifeline accounts, and on September 1, for lifeline accounts.
“By that time, I believe the customers will be able to cope with the challenge of paying their bills,” he said in Filipino.
ERC’s move
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will extend by six months the suspension of bill payments for consumers with a monthly consumption of 200 kilowatt hour (kWh).
At the virtual Senate hearing Thursday, ERC Agnes Devanadera said her office would issue an order to all distribution utilities (DUs) and retail electricity suppliers (RES) Friday.
“We are issuing another one to cover MECQ (modified ECQ) areas,” Devanadera said. “The advisory we are issuing will state that the four-month moratorium will remain applicable to all, but for those residential clients consuming 200 kilowatt per month in MECQ areas, we are extending the suspension of payment dues for six months, to be paid in six months in equal installment upon the lifting of the MECQ,” she added.
The ERC earlier issued an advisory suspending payment in four months, with bills where due dates fall within the ECQ to be paid in four equal installments upon the lifting of the ECQ.
The areas under MCQ include Metro Manila and Laguna. “When we compare, the ECQ and MECQ actually are very little difference. Under both situations, there is no access to public transportation so in the mind of the commission, the daily wage earners, the informal sector, still are not able to be gainfully employed,” Devanadera said.
The Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship on Thursday began hearing Senate Bill No. 1473 or An Act Institutionalizing an Installment Payment Scheme on Basic Utility Bills During Calamities or the Three-Gives Law.
Committee Chairman Koko Pimentel said, “the idea behind the bill is noble and very relevant.”
The hearing was attended by representatives from the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), National Electrification Administration (NEA), the ERC, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and rural electric cooperatives.
The Tolentino bill institutionalizes the response of the government and the private corporations, especially during this pandemic period, by placing a moratorium on electric, water and telephone bills during the entire duration of a state of calamity or emergency.
It proposes that unpaid bills during the state of calamity or emergency be settled in three equal installments.
With Lenie Lectura
3 comments
Ecq bills should at least be considered until everything will be back to normal…esp to lifeline consumers…sales isn’t enough for real to cover up the ecq bills yet…and if it’s the only source of income if disconnected how on earth can they cover up even their current bills…try to consider and have compassion at least when those small time businesses doesn’t have any cash aid received?
How can i cover up to pay my huge bills when we only have limited customers to eat in my small eatery,, para na rin ako nagpapatiwakal nito di nga halos makabayad sa upa ng pwesto,,