Duterte warns officials over water crisis
A visibly irate President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte confronted and threatened to dismiss government officials if they failed to “shape up up or ship out” due to the water crisis that forced millions of residents in Metro Manila and neighbouring areas to wake up early and join the long lines and wait for the arrival of fire trucks to their communities.
Salvador Panelo, the presidential spokesman, disclosed that Duterte also threatened to cancel the service contracts of two private concessionaires — Manila Water and Maynilad — if they failed to deliver guaranteed water services to their customers.
Panelo said Duterte delivered his stern warning to officials of the government-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) as well as those from Manila Water and Maynilad in a 40-minute meeting at Malacanang Palace on Tuesday night. He described the meeting as a “presidential monologue” in which he accused those present thus: “All they care about is to get profit for the water of the people.”
“The president,” Panelo added, “told the officials of MWSS and the two private concessionaires he was not going to listen to their explanation as to why there was a water shortage (and) as such would just be plain excuses.” “They simply did not do their job,” Panelo quoted Duterte as also saying as he reminded the officials that as the president, he was constitutionally tasked to serve and protect the citizens.
He explained: “As such, the president will not equivocate to take swit and drastic action to secure the people from discomfort and stop them from suffering regardless of the dire consequences to the players of the water industry.”
In the same meeting, Duterte likewise assailed the officials they already knew of the existence of the problem leading to the water crisis but did not nothing to prevent it from happening, Panelo disclosed. He said Duterte officials concerned to submit their reports to Malacanang Palace on the issue which would help him decide whether to dismiss the MWSS officials and cancel the service contracts of the two concessionaires.
Senators also tackled the issue of dismissal when they conducted a public hearing on Tuesday on the water crisis, particlarly that of Reynaldo Velasco as the head of the MWSS, the government regulatory agency. Ferdinand dela Cruz, the Manila Water president, earlier took personal responsibility for the crisis as he offered to resign but Velasco simply shrugged off especially Duterte’s threat to fire him, saying that “is no problem.”