00:00In many Filipino homes, churning on the tap has become a gamble, especially for customers of Prime Water, the country's largest private water provider in provincial areas.
00:11Growing frustration has led several local governments, including Tapoban City's Leite Metropolitan Water District, to reconsider their ties with the company due to unfulfilled promises and worsening service.
00:24Alec Reyes from the Philippine Information Agency tells us more.
00:30Prime Water took over the Leite Metropolitan Water District under joint ventures with the city government in Tapoban.
00:38It promised to modernize aging infrastructure, expand access, and ensure reliable service.
00:44Five years into the agreement, those promises remain unfulfilled.
00:48LMWD General Manager Ronnie Cornico said the management has recently taken steps to terminate or reconsider the joint venture agreement with Prime Water.
00:57After a detailed review, founded services to be wanting and amidst mounting complaints by water consumers on poor service quality.
01:06The LMWD management fully agree to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s order to investigate into prime water services to be led by the Local Water Utilities Administration.
01:17In many affected areas, residents are forced to rely on water delivery services or dig deep into their pockets for bottled water, further burdening already strained household budgets.
01:28Among those is Lorna Sabusap, who lives in a unit inside the Kapusa Village in Tacloban City's northern area, together with seven of her family members.
01:38She says, most of the time they do not have water supply, yet they are paying a monthly bill which they think is more than they have consumed.
01:46As climate change worsens, water scarcity and demand grows with population.
02:15The need for reliable and equitable water service has never been more urgent.
