CA upholds Maynilad arbitration award

The Court of Appeals (CA) Second Division has denied, for lack of merit, the Petition for Review filed by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and affirmed the entitlement of Maynilad Water Services, Inc. to tariff hikes.

In disclosures to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Maynilad shareholders DMCI Holdings and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation said the CA upheld the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City’s previous decisions confirming the Final Award issued in the arbitration between Maynilad and the MWSS in December 2014.

The RTC had ordered the immediate implementation of the Final Award by MWSS.

The Final Award upheld Maynilad’s entitlement to the inclusion of corporate income tax in its tariff, and the 13.41 percent Rebasing Adjustment that Maynilad proposed for the Fourth Rate Rebasing Period from January 2013 to December 2017.

The RTC had also denied the Motion for Reconsideration which the MWSS filed following the RTC Decision.

“While the MWSS may (still) appeal to the Supreme Court the CA Decision affirming the RTC Decision and the RTC Order, this appeal should not stay the immediate implementation of the Final Award,” DMCI and MPIC said.

Maynilad President Ramoncito S. Fernandez said that “[t]his decision reinvigorates investor confidence in the public-private partnership program of the Government, and strengthens confidence in the mechanisms for enforcement of arbitral awards.”

He added that “this also ensures the continued implementation of Maynilad’s capital expenditure projects that are intended to benefit further our customers.”