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Marc Jayson Cayabyab - The Philippine Star
December 4, 2025 | 12:00am
A photo of water running.
Philstar.com / Irish Lising
MANILA, Philippines — Local water districts have opted to get out of their joint venture agreements (JVA) with PrimeWater amid water service complaints.
Senate committee on public services chair Raffy Tulfo said his office conducted a survey among local water districts (LWD) and found that 61 out of 70 are dissatisfied with PrimeWater.
Three LWDs have issued a notice of termination, 24 have issued a notice of pre-termination and 25 plan to initiate pre-termination, Tulfo said.
He said his office has received complaints from residents, even those from subdivisions, as well as from the water districts.
Tulfo proposed the termination of JVAs and the approval of performance bond claims.
“From 2023 to 2025, performance bond claims have been filed left and right with the Insurance Commission, but the results are the same – terminated, denied or delayed. Not a single water district has received a successful payout,” Tulfo said.
The senator further lamented how, since 2022, PrimeWater has been earning billions, but it is not being felt by their consumers.
“Year after year, PrimeWater’s loans ballooned – P270 million in 2014 to almost P24 billion in 2024. The question is, where do these loans go?” he asked.
Reacting to the allegations, PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. president Roberto Fabrique Jr. said they are in constant coordination with authorities to address the complaints.
The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) said it will review the possibility of refunding water consumers for the poor service.
LWUA administrator Jose Moises Salonga added that they are working on a joint memorandum circular with the National Water Resources Board for consumers not to be forced into paying if there is poor water service.
