Customers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. will pay lower water rates starting July after the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) approved a tariff rollback for the third quarter, reducing charges by P0.25 per cubic meter.

The adjustment, approved under the Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment (FCDA) mechanism, is equivalent to a negative 0.47 percent of Maynilad’s 2026 Average Basic Charge of P52.86 per cubic meter.

“The MWSS RO confirms a tariff rollback for Maynilad customers, effective 1 July,” MWSS Regulatory Office Chief Regulator Patrick Lester N. Ty said during a virtual briefing on Thursday.

The P0.25-per-cubic-meter reduction is larger than the currently implemented FCDA adjustment of negative P0.13 per cubic meter in the second quarter. 

As a result, customers will receive an additional average decrease of P0.12 per cubic meter in water rates beginning in July.

Maynilad serves the West Concession Area, which covers parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Meanwhile, customers of Manila Water Co. Inc. will see no change in water rates for the third quarter after the MWSS Regulatory Office determined that the computed FCDA adjustment was less than P0.01 per cubic meter.

Manila Water, which operates in the East Concession Area, will continue implementing its previously approved FCDA equivalent to 0.76 percent of its 2026 Average Basic Charge of P50.70 per cubic meter, or P0.39 per cubic meter.

The FCDA is a quarterly mechanism that adjusts water tariffs to reflect foreign exchange gains or losses on foreign currency-denominated loans used to finance water and wastewater projects.

Under Section 9.8 of the Amended Revised Concession Agreements, “more detailed guidelines on the determination and application of the FCDA to the Concessionaire Loans will be issued by the Regulatory Office, as assisted by the Department of Finance and as approved by the MWSS.”

The MWSS Regulatory Office said the mechanism is intended to prevent under- or over-recovery arising from forex fluctuations.