House probe on PrimeWater’s ‘poor service’ pushed

Metro Manila, Philippines - A lawmaker is pushing for a congressional inquiry into the supposed poor service of water utility provider PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation owned by the Villar family.

In a statement on Tuesday, April 29, House Assistant Majority Leader Jay Khonghun said he will file a measure when the session resumes to launch an investigation into the provider’s operations.

PrimeWater’s consumers have been complaining about their negative experience with the provider, such as inconsistent water supply and poor service restoration after outages.

PrimeWater is owned by the family of former Senator Manny Villar, whose daughter, Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar, is seeking a Senate seat.

“This is not about politics. It’s about justice to the consumers. Sobrang dami na kayo pinahirapan. Sa mga pangako na hindi nyo tinutupad [You burdened many consumers with your unfulfilled promises],” Khonghun said.

The Zambales representative noted that PrimeWater was given sufficient time to improve its services.

The firm earlier attributed its development backlog to the pandemic.