By Leslie Venzon
MANILA, (PNA) — West zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) on Friday followed the lead of Manila Water Co. and filed a dispute notice with international court of arbitration to resolve its rebasing dispute with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System.
In separate disclosures, the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and DMCI Holdings Inc. said this is pending the International Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s appointment of a presiding arbitrator to the Appeals Panel of Maynilad.
The consortium of MPIC and DMCI Holdings Inc. currently controls Maynilad.
The dispute notice was filed after MWSS, in its September 12 resolution, denied Maynilad’s petition for an upward adjustment of 28.35 percent of its average basic charge or P8.58 per cubic meter.
Instead, MWSS approved a negative adjustment of 4.82 percent or P1.46 per cu.m. to be implemented in five equal tranches of negative 0.964 percent or P0.29 per cu.m. per charging year.
Under the concession agreement signed by Maynilad and the MWSS, and guaranteed by the Philippine government, any disagreement, dispute, controversy or claim arising out of, or relating to, the agreement, which cannot be resolved through consultation or negotiation between the parties, must be resolved through a process called arbitration.
A three-member panel called the Appeals Panel will conduct the arbitration proceedings in accordance with the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.
In case of a major dispute, as in the case of a rebasing dispute, the panel will be composed of three members: one member appointed by Maynilad, one member appointed by MWSS, and the third member, the Appeals Chairman or Presiding Arbitrator, appointed by the ICC Chairman.
The issuance of a notice of dispute officially commences the arbitration process. Unless otherwise ordered by the Appeals Panel, the current water rates will continue to apply pending the final decision of the panel.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base.
It services 17 cities and municipalities that comprise the west zone, including Caloocan, Las Piñas, Malabon, Manila, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Pasay, Parañaque, Valenzuela, parts of Quezon City, a part of Makati; and the cities of Bacoor, Cavite and Imus and the municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta and Rosario in the province of Cavite.
East zone concessionaire Manila Water Co. also earlier formally filed a dispute notice with the ICC, challenging the 29.47-percent reduction in the tariffs recently ordered by the MWSS.