Marcos orders probe into Villars’ PrimeWater amid mounting consumer complaints

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'It will depend on how she will perform, if we will have this trust on her,' Press Undersecretary Claire Castro says of Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar who remains on the Marcos-backed Alyansa slate

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will order an investigation into private water utility firm PrimeWater owned by the powerful Villar family, amid mounting complaints from consumers of poor service nationwide.

“Ang kakulangan sa serbisyo ay walang puwang sa administrasyon ni Pangulong Marcos Jr…mag-uutos po ang Pangulo na maimbestigahan po,” Malacañang Press Undersecretary Claire Castro said in response to a reporter’s question during a briefing on Wednesday, April 30.

(Wanting service has no place in the administration of President Marcos Jr…..the President will order an investigation.)

It is unclear which agency under the executive department will be ordered to investigate. Rappler will update once Castro responds to our query. At the outset, it can be the  Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) which is a government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC). LWUA supervises water districts, nearly a hundred of which nationwide entered into joint ventures with PrimeWater under the Duterte administration, according to Rappler’s tally. Civil society organizations count 130 deals.

It can also be the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC), which conducts contract reviews for GOCCs.

The province of Bulacan, particularly the city of San Jose Del Monte, was the first to declare multi-pronged investigations into PrimeWater at the provincial and city level, following Rappler’s reporting on the years-long suffering of local residents since they came under PrimeWater.

Other towns have, over the years, gone to court against their PrimeWater deal to no avail. In 2019, the Commission on Audit (COA) in its water districts financial review said there were many PrimeWater deals that had disadvantageous income share to the government.

In our tally, there are 12 towns in Marcos’ home province of Ilocos Norte, which are also under a PrimeWater joint venture including the seat of the capitol, Laoag.

House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun previously said he would file a resolution seeking a full-blown investigation into PrimeWater’s lapses once Congress resumes session in June.

Khonghun, who represents the first district of Zambales, said his constituents in Subic have lamented the poor delivery of services of PrimeWater.

“This is not about politics. It’s about justice for the consumers. You’ve caused too much hardship already. So many promises you haven’t fulfilled,” he added.

PrimeWater is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prime Asset Ventures Incorporated, owned by Manuel Paolo A. Villar, one of the children of the Philippines’ richest, Manny Villar, and outgoing senator Cynthia Villar. The other Villar child, Mark Villar, was the public works secretary when these joint ventures were inked.

Bulacan Vice Governor Alex Castro previously told Rappler that the local government felt “hostaged” by PrimeWater which asserted that the joint venture was not under the LGU’s jurisdiction. Many PrimeWater deals are for 25 years, making the legality of any attempt at termination complex.

Castro said: “Ang pangangailangan ng tao sa malinis na tubig, sapat na supply ng tubig ay dapat lang po nararapat na hindi pang negosyo lamang, kundi dapat ay na kinakalinga ang taumbayan.”

(The need for a clean water, sufficient supply of water, should not be just a business venture, but should be a service to the people.)

Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar of the same family remains to be on the Marcos-backed Alyansa senatorial slate, despite the apparent intra-party cracks after she appeared on a political ad with Marcos’ nemesis Vice President Sara Duterte.

Asked whether the president still has confidence in Camille Villar, Castro said: “It will depend on how she will perform, if we will have this trust on her, we have to give it to her but she should prove that she can perform as a leader.”

– With reports from Dwight De Leon/Rappler.com