FORMER Bayan Muna Partylist Congressman Ferdinand Gaite on Tuesday hailed the resolution passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, which pre-terminated the controversial Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between Prime Water Infrastructure Corporation and the San Jose del Monte Water District (SJDMWD). He called the development a “victory for the people’s movement against the privatization and commodification of water.”
“I welcome the decision of the San Jose del Monte City Council and I congratulate all the consumers who worked, campaigned, and protested tirelessly to overturn the joint venture agreement,” said Gaite. “This is a blow to the Villar-led privatization—or what I call ‘Villarization’—not just of the SJDM Water District but of several other water districts in the country. It is a clear signal that the people can fight back against schemes that lead to widespread retrenchments, unreasonable rate hikes, and the denial of the people’s basic right to water.”
“Matagal nang tumitindig ang Bayan Muna laban sa pribatisasyon ng tubig. Ito ay isang serbisyong publiko, hindi negosyo. Sa pagkakataong ito, pinatunayan ng mamamayan ng San Jose del Monte na kayang ipaglaban ang kanilang karapatan laban sa dambuhalang korporasyon,” Gaite added.
Gaite warned against the continued expansion of Prime Water and other corporate giants into public utilities masquerading as “joint ventures” but resulting in the erosion of public control over essential services. “This victory should inspire others to push back against the Villarization happening in their own water districts. They should reject not just the retrenchments but the entire corporate takeover schemes of Prime Water masked as partnerships.”
“Sa pagpasok ng Prime Water sa mga water district, hindi lang trabaho ng mga empleyado ang inaagaw nila, kundi pati ang karapatan ng taumbayan sa abot-kayang tubig. Ang resulta ay palpak at mahal na serbisyo—taripa na halos doble, serbisyo na madalas putol, at reklamong walang katapusan,” Gaite said.
He also highlighted how water services have become the new arena of profiteering for oligarchic families: “Several corporations owned by big oligarchs like Aboitiz, Pangilinan, Lucio Co, and of course, Villar, are now deeply involved in water privatization. But instead of improving public service, they are clogging the people’s access to clean and affordable water. They see water not as a right, but as a wellspring of super-profit.”
Gaite recalled that in November 2019, he and the Makabayan bloc filed House Resolution No. 483 to investigate the questionable joint venture between the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) and Prime Water.
“Dapat imbestigahan ang lahat ng kasunduan ng Prime Water sa mga water district. Marami sa mga ito ay pinilit, minadali, o ginamitan ng pananakot para mapilitan ang mga lokal na pamahalaan at water district boards. Napakalinaw na bumabalot ang kurapsyon sa mga kasunduang ito,” Gaite asserted.
“Kailangang pangalagaan ang tubig bilang isang mahalagang serbisyong publiko. It must be the people’s welfare and their right to water—not corporate greed—that should dictate the flow of water services. We must stop the full-scale corporate capture of our public utilities.”
“Ito ang iniwang pamana ng administrasyong Duterte—ang paglikha ng mga water oligarchs sa pamamagitan ng mga Joint Venture Agreements na pumapabor sa iilang pamilya habang pinapahirapan ang milyon-milyong Pilipino,” Gaite ended.
Bayan Muna calls on all communities, water district employees, and local governments to stand against water privatization and defend water as a public good, not a commodity.
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