Franchises of faulty utility firms must be reviewed – Alyansa bets

The franchise of utility providers who fail to provide quality service to their customers must be reviewed and eventually revoked if found liable for shortcomings, two senatorial candidates from the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas said on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. File Photo from Alyansa promo material on its Facebook page.

MALOLOS, Bulacan — The franchise of utility providers who fail to provide quality service to their customers must be reviewed and eventually revoked if found liable for shortcomings, two senatorial candidates from the Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas said on Wednesday.

During the press briefing at the Bulacan State University (BSU) here in Malolos, former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said that concessionaires should be replaced should they fail to provide basic needs like water.

“Syempre po kapag basic needs or public utility, dapat laging priority, hindi dapat naabala.  So if you’re talking about privatization ng utilities like what, water, dito sa Bulacan? Then dapat kung ano ‘yong makakasiguro ang mga Bulakenyo, kami susuportahan namin syempre,” Sotto said.

(Of course, basic needs or public utilities should always be a priority; these should not be disrupted.  So if you’re talking about the privatization of utilities like water, here in Bulacan? Then we will support what would give assurance and comfort to Bulacan residents.)

“Basic needs are always important […] So kung may privatized na (company) tapos di nagdedeliver ng mabuti, palitan.  Bakit nagtitiis?” he asked.

(Basic needs are always important […] So if there is a privatized (company) that cannot deliver properly, replace it.  Why are we enduring this?)

ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo, for his part, had choice words for firms unable to provide quality service, saying that the problem with some concessionaires is that they enjoy lengthy franchises even if their service is already bad.

“Ang problema irereklamo mo, naka-franchise siya ng 25 years, di lang sa tubig, lalo na sa kuryente.  Kahit saksakan na ng pangit ‘yong hinayupak na kumpanya, kahit na putik, burak na ‘yong lumalabas, ‘yong kuryente naman wala nang ilaw […] walang magawa because of the franchise,” Tulfo said.

(The problem is if you complain about these companies, they hold a 25-year franchise, not only with water, but also with electricity.  Even if the services of that company are already worthless, and if faucets are already spitting out mud, if the electric company does not provide light […] we cannot do anything because of the franchise.)

“Dito nagkaka-problema eh, kasi sabi 25 years kaya kahit na walang ka-torya torya ‘yong hinayupak na services niya, tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang nagsa-suffer ang taumbayan.  So siguro high time that Congress and Senate will review, kung hindi na kailangan ng 25 (years), dapat i-kansela na ‘yong franchise,” he added.

(This is where we encounter problems, because they still enjoy the rest of the 25 year franchise even if their service has been bad, and the people will continue to suffer. So maybe it’s high time that Congress and Senate will review, if the companies can still get 25 year franchises, and if we have to cancel the franchise.)

This question to Alyansa senators came after Bulacan residents complained about the services of PrimeWater, the water company owned by the Villar family.  Recently, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered an investigation into the company due to numerous grievances from Bulacan and other concession areas.

According to Tulfo, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) should have addressed the issue before it became a big problem — and it should have not waited for Malacañang to intervene.

“Pero siguro dapat kumilos kaagad, kung may problema, ‘yong minsan hindi ko maintindihan din bakit walang kumilos, ngayon pa lang na halos sabay-sabay na ‘yong problema saka pa lang kumikilos. At Malacañang pa lang ang kumilos,” Tulfo noted.

(Maybe they should have moved immediately if there’s even a minor problem, that’s what I cannot understand, they only move when the concerns are piling up. And now it’s Malacañang who has decided to act.)

“Ano’ng ginagawa ng LWUA?  Ano’ng ginagawa ng ahensya natin na may mga hawak sa mga tubig na ‘yan?  What were they doing? Imposible naman na hindi nakarating sa kanila ‘yan,” he added.

(What is the LWUA doing?  What are our agencies who are in charge of these water concessionaires doing?  What were they doing? It’s impossible that they did not hear anything about that.)

Alyansa’s campaign rally in Bulacan is the second-to-the-last sortie before the miting de avance on Friday, which will be held in Mandaluyong City. It is also Alyansa’s second rally at Bulacan, after making a trip to San Jose del Monte last February 28 — an area that PrimeWater serves.

READ: Alyansa tapers off campaign season with a return to ‘powerhouse’ Bulacan

In a statement on Tuesday, Alyansa campaign manager and Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco said that the slate returns to Bulacan not only to woo voters, but to assure the province’s residents that it is vital to the administration’s vision of a national development.

“Bulacan is a powerhouse, a gateway to progress. This province has always stood for strong leadership, and Alyansa is committed to ensuring that Bulakenyos reap the full benefits of national development,” Tiangco said.

“These projects will not just benefit Bulacan but will fuel the economic growth of the entire Central Luzon region,” he added./coa