Whatever Happened To The PrimeWater Probe?

IT HAS BEEN over a month since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) to investigate complaints against the Villar-owned PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation (PrimeWater).

To date, LWUA has yet to make an update, for which consumers are toying on two possibilities — either the President isn’t serious in his directive, or LWUA isn’t taking Marcos seriously.

If my memory serves me right, LWUA administrator Jose Salonga himself made the announcement about an “ongoing investigation.”

Government data showed that more than 100 water districts in the country are in joint venture partnership agreements (JVA), 74 of which are with PrimeWater.

WHY PROBE?

But even before LWUA gets to conclude on its investigation, Salonga noted that the agency does not wield the power to rescind the JVAs.

If that’s the case, what’s the use of such an investigation?

According to the LWUA chief, the probe would somehow find ways as to how water districts can terminate their agreements with PrimeWater.

Except for the disputed islands at the West Philippine Sea, PrimeWater is basically all over the country — Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

NOT THE FIRST

Interestingly, PrimeWater isn’t the first Villar business venture to have been complained about. 

Families who fell into a trap aptly referred to as “pre-selling scheme” of the Villar real estate companies, are starting to lose hope on their fervent wish to recover their hard-earned money after numerous housing projects were “shelved.”

Even owners of the land where Villar’s real estate companies “developed” residential subdivisions regretted transacting with them. Why? Most of them were forced to sell their land at a pittance. Worse, they still have yet to collect.

DELINQUENT TAXES

Three other companies owned by the family of top Filipino billionaire Manuel Villar Jr. have also been delinquent in paying taxes to the Las Piñas City government.

As per documents obtained by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), Brittany Corporation, Villar Sipag Center, and Villar Sipag at Tiyaga Foundation have not paid P213.55 million in real property taxes for a number of assets in the city, including Mella Hotel, three Evia buildings, Portofino Commercial, and the Villar Sipag Center. 

No wonder, Villars have become the richest family in the Philippines.