2 days ago
2
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) announced an increase in consumer water bills for East Zone concessionaire Manila Water Co.
In a briefing on Thursday, March 13, MWSS Chief Regulator Patrick Ty reported that Manila Water consumers will experience a slight increase in their water bills starting April to June, depending on the consumption rate.
Regular consumers with a 10 cubic meter (cu.m) or less consumption will see a ₱0.21 increase in their bills, or an average of ₱255.04.
Residents with 20 cu.m or less will see an upward adjustment of ₱0.45, or an average of ₱563.92, while those with 30 cu.m or less are set to have a ₱0.90 spike in their water bills, or ₱1,149.65 reflected in their average billing.
Low-income households and enhanced lifeline customers will not be affected by the price adjustments.
Manila Water’s recent tariff increases are driven by the implementation of the foreign currency differential adjustment (FCDA) that was submitted to the MWSS Regulatory Office (MWSS RO) last January.
The FCDA is a quarterly-reviewed tariff mechanism wherein concessionaires, such as Manila Water, recover the losses or return the gains arising from foreign exchange (forex) rate fluctuations, especially since payments are denominated in foreign currency loans.
These funds are utilized for water and wastewater utility expansion and improvements.
After receiving validation from regulators, Manila Water had an increased FCDA of 1.39 percent of its average basic charge of ₱47.10 per cu.m.
MWSS data also revealed that the all-in tariff grew by ₱0.04 from ₱76.91 in the first quarter of 2025 to ₱76.95 in the next quarter. This is the overall average tariff for Manila Water’s residential, commercial, and industrial consumers.
According to Ty, despite the tariff increases in the East Zone area, West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. will not adjust its rates, calling it a “business decision” to defer the price adjustments for the second quarter.
“It would have been around ₱0.09 [for Maynilad in the second quarter]… It will accumulate and this will be implemented in the next or third quarter of this year. [The next adjustment] depends whether the peso appreciates or depreciates against the US dollar and Japanese yen and euro,” he told reporters.
Maynilad also clarified that it regularly evaluates factors when implementing FCDA, such as forex movements and the impact on its loan obligations.
“While the mechanism allows for quarterly adjustments, we considered it prudent to maintain rate stability for this period. Moving forward, FCDA adjustments will continue to be applied as needed, based on prevailing conditions,” it added.
