Bishop Slams Maynilad 'mismanagement'

MANILA, July 22, 2010- A Catholic bishop has criticized the Manilad Water Services Inc. for "mismanagement" causing a water crisis affecting a large portion of Metro Manila.

Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos said the blame should go to the company because million liters of water are lost daily due to its leaked water pipes.

"They should have done something about this long time ago... they are just making repairs now," Oliveros said over Church-run Radyo Veritas.

He also chided Maynilad which covers the west zone of the metropolis for blaming the critical water level in Angat Dam, which fell to an all-time low of 157.56 meters on Sunday, as the real cause of the problem.

Maynilad earlier said there will be no improvements in the water service unless rain raised the water levels in Angat, its main source for its service area.

Close to three million residents in about 117 hardly affected barangays in its concession area that gets water supply for only six hours daily.

The company asked consumers to brace themselves for more days of waterless hours until there is sufficient rainfall in the Angat Dam area.

"This (supposed) water shortage is artificial... it's their fault. Many people are experience sever water shortage problem because of their negligence," Oliveros said.

He also called on the government to evaluate the performance of Maynilad, and if necessary held the company liable for negligence.

On Thursday, Maynilad admitted it is losing 890 million liters per day due to old and leaking pipes.

Maynilad spokesman Cherubin Ocampo said they have allocated P6-billion to repair damaged pipes. (CBCPNews)