Manila Water to contest SC fine

The Manila Water Company (MWC), one of the concessionaires slapped with massive fines by the Supreme Court (SC), on Wednesday vowed to contest the ruling of the high tribunal.

Leah Flor, Communication Planning and Tactical Development Manager of MWC, said they will be filing a motion next week.

“We are filing a motion for reconsideration on 2 October,” Flor said in a message to the Daily Tribune.

According to Flor, MWC only received the SC decision last 18 September.

To recall, the SC has imposed massive fines on MWC, Maynilad Water Services Inc. and the government-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) for their noncompliance with the Clean Water Act.

The SC, voting 12-0, fined Maynilad and MWSS P921,464,184 and separately fined Manila Water and MWSS the same amount.

The penalty covered the period of 7 May 2009 or five years after the law was enacted and up to the day the decision was promulgated.

Accordingly, the high tribunal ordered the water companies to pay within 15 days from receipt of the decision.

They were also fined P322,102 per day starting the day they received a copy of the decision until they have fully settled the multimillion-peso fine.