We enjoy no 2020 vision on the ultimate consequences of the water concession controversy ignited late last year by President Duterte. The trigger was his
Another week later, both Guevarra and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez disclaimed any thought of canceling the contracts, despite Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo’s allegation that, guided by public officials, the concessionaires “raped the economy for their own personal aggrandisement,” bleeding the country dry “to the outrageous detriment of the Filipinos.” Both justice and finance departments support renegotiation with the alleged rapists.
Their recourse is international arbitration, permitted in the agreements but also lacking both police powers and popular appeal, especially when the battle is waged in the arena of bureaucratic rules, populist politics, and social media. Where 40% of families consider themselves poor, even mendacious accusations trump reasonable contracts when they promise lower consumer costs.
Hence, the Philippine privatization of water services in 1997, at a time of severe shortage, gained international notice. One concessionaire dropped the project, an indication that the contract was no sweetheart deal. Manila Water persisted and leveraged the expertise it acquired to emerge as the largest direct foreign investor in Vietnam’s water sector, delivering half of the bulk water requirements of Ho Chi Minh City.
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