NAG-ALOK si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa water firms Maynilad at Manila Water ng bagong concession agreements na hindi naglalaman ng mga probisyon na makasasama sa gobyerno at sa publiko.
Ayon kay Duterte, dapat tanggapin ng dalawang water firms ang bagong kasunduan dahil kung hindi ay iuutos niya ang military takeover sa operasyon ng dalawang water utilities.
Subalit kahit tanggapin ng dalawang water concessionaires ang bagong kasunduan ay wala aniyang katiyakan na makakatakas ang mga ito sa pag-uusig.
“I cannot stop anyone, especially a Filipino and a consumer of water, to file any case to damages or anything,” anang Pangulo. “Wala akong pakialam diyan I leave it to anybody’s choice to run after or not to run after.”
Ayon kay Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, ang usapin sa 22-year-old water concession agreements ay masusing tinalakay sa Cabinet meeting noong Lunes ng gabi.
Aniya, inilatag ng Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) at ng Department of Justice (DOJ) ang bagong kontrata sa Gabinete.
“The Chief Executive is giving the water concessionaires the option of accepting the new contracts without any guarantee of not being criminally prosecuted together with those who conspired to craft the very onerous contracts which are void ab initio for violating the Constitution and the laws of the land,” wika ni Panelo.
“The terms will be very, very different in this one,” ani Panelo. “There is a time for reckoning. That time has come.”
Dagdag pa ni Panelo, iginiit ng Pangulo sa Cabinet meeting na hindi dapat ma-exploit ang tubig para makakuha ng bilyon-bilyong pisong halaga mula sa mga consumer.
“The President stressed that water is a God-given natural resource which cannot be treated as a mere commer-cial commodity and exploited to rake in billions of pesos in profits at the expense of the Filipino people,” aniya.
Sinabi pa ng opisyal na hindi kaya ng Pangulo na magbulag-bulagan sa anomalya sa nasabing kontrata at nananatiling prinsipyo ng administrasyong Duterte na protektahan ang interes ng mga Filipino.
“Serving and protecting the interest of the Filipino people is the underlying principle that forms the basis of the President’s governance. All his acts since his assumption to the presidency were – and are – geared toward this end.” PILIPINO Mirror Reportorial Team
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