WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

4.2 The Philippines – Manila and the Fight for Water
In Manila, the capital of the Philippines with a population of 12
million, the city’s water supply was privatised after authorities there
were forced to do so by the World Bank. Two syndicates were awarded
the contract: the Manila Water Company, whose shareholders include
the U.S. Bechtel Corporation, the car manufacturer Mitsubishi and
the Ayala industrialist family, received the eastern section of the city.
Concessions for the western section were granted to Manyland Water
Services, an enterprise belonging to the French group Suez and the
Lopez industrialist family. Once more, the World Bank was able to
sing its own praises in celebration of this seemingly successful water
privatisation deal. But problems were not long in coming. Water prices
rose astronomically, the rate of water leakage increased dramatically
and millions of people still found themselves without access to water.
In November 2003, a cholera epidemic broke out in Manila, caused
by E.coli bacteria spread via drinking water. The two multinationals Suez
and Bechtel were largely responsible for the quality of the water supply
in the megametropolis. In the end, the supervisory body Metropolitan
Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS) took legal action and the
case came before the arbitration board of the International Chamber
of Commerce, which ruled in favour of the MWSS on most accounts.
This led Suez to terminate the contract, a move that was garnished with
claims for damages to the tune of US$300 million on account of alleged
breaches of contract. Manila is not the only known case of a company
pulling out of the water business in this way.
In spite of all the dreadful things which have happened in Manila,
people there have an amusing story to tell: it was not only the very
poor who illegally removed water from the pipes to cover their needs.
A “colleague” from the water-grabbing branch was also found guilty of
illegal extraction, namely Coca Cola...
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