philippines: cholera and higher water
rates
Water
privatization is an ongoing story in the
Philippines. Water utilities were
originally owned by the government but
financial pressure and backing from the
World Bank and Asian Development Bank have
resulted in the privatization of this
public service.
In urban areas, specifically in Manila
but also in other cities, the consequence
of water privatization has been a
substantial increase in water rates, even
while many people still lack water
connections. An outbreak of cholera and
gastroenteritis has also been reported. In
Manila the companies responsible are
Maynilad Water owned by a subsidiary of the
French water corporation Suez, and Manila
Water owned by notorious US corporation
Bechtel.
Outside urban areas, local water
utilities in the communities have also been
the target of transnational corporations
such as Suez. For example a community in
Calapan, are facing the possibility of
having to pay for the supply of water,
which they had access to previously without
cost. In rural communities, people are
competing for water resources with banana
and pineapple plantations. Watershed areas
are often classified as agricultural zones,
thus giving corporations the justification
to convert these lands into plantations.
Furthermore, mining operators have
auxiliary rights to the control of water in
their project areas. Both mining and
plantation companies have been
contaminating aquifers.
Several NGOs in the Philippines have
been working closely with different sectors
to oppose the privatization of water
utilities.
more information
Legal Rights and Natural Resources
Center – Kasama sa Kalikasan/Friends of the
Earth Philippines
Jean Marie M. Ferraris
