Parched, fed up

Muntinlupa residents are up in arms over Maynilad’s inaction despite their repeated appeals to improve the water service, particularly as summer approaches.

Strong frustration is giving way to anger over Maynilad’s frequently intermittent water supply and poor service, with complaints surging in February and March due to repeated low to no water blamed on what the company termed as the variable raw water quality from Laguna Lake as a result of the strong Amihan winds.

The grumblings fill social media and village channels with residents reporting disruptions to their daily life — in their cooking, bathing, cleaning, school and work routines. Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon has publicly rejected Maynilad’s explanations, calling for accountability and holding a virtual town hall attended by some 25,000 residents after he was “besieged with complaints” from his constituents.

Some of the social media posts gathered by Nosy Tarsee were from affected areas that include Bayanan, Putatan, and Tunasan.

“Grabe kayo, pang apat na araw na walang tubig, Bayanan, Muntinlupa” (“This is too much, four straight days without water, Bayanan, Muntinlupa”).

“ILANG ARAW NA WALANG TUBIG DITO SAMIN. Anong nangyayari na sa maintenance, bakit hindi na naayos?? Kawawa kami dito sa Putatan, Muntinlupa” (“Several days already with no water here. What’s happening with maintenance, why hasn’t it been fixed?? We’re suffering here in Putatan, Muntinlupa”).

Still another desperate resident said, “4 days na po walang tubig dito sa amin sa Bayanan Muntinlupa. Nasa 2nd floor po kami di po nakakaakyat ang tubig. May senior po kami at may pasok na mga bata ang hirap po wala kami tubig” (“4 days already with no water here in Bayanan, Muntinlupa. We’re on the 2nd floor and the water doesn’t reach us. We have a senior and the kids have to go to school, it’s really hard without water”).

Households often have water for only eight hours a day, forcing people to rearrange their lives around the unreliable supply.

The complaints have persisted across multiple incidents, including weekend outages in February and daily interruptions in March, with residents demanding better infrastructure, clearer advisories, and reliable 24/7 service, rather than repeated apologies and tanker deployments.

While blaming nature for the problem, Maynilad officials have admitted the company’s shortcomings. Existing pipes are insufficient to carry the additional water volume. Angat Dam, Maynilad’s main water source, is prone to the effects of El Niño, or the prolonged dry spell.

There’s an attempt to seek forgiveness in words couched in jargon but never an admission of guilt, much like a convicted murderer awaiting execution in the electric chair denying his guilt to the end.

There’s also an attempt to explain why Laguna Lake, already suffering from a variety of environmental challenges, is a Maynilad water source.