TAGUM CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 15, 2014) – Various groups have protested government proposals to privatize water and energy resources and vowed to intensify mass protests in southern Philippines to stop any attempts to take over these vital resources.
An alliance of electric cooperatives and power consumers in the region was also launched and called Mindanawons against Privatization of Water and Energy Resources or MPOWER in Tagum City.
The alliance also held a conference where it tackled power situation in Mindanao and the failure of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 which was signed into law in 2001 by President Gloria Arroyo.The government said the law is designed to bring down electricity rates and to improve the delivery of power supply to end-users by encouraging greater competition and efficiency in the electricity industry.
Another group called Water for the People Network or WPN is also opposing the privatization of water resources, saying it result in severe water scarcity and sharp increases in the cost of services.
The WPN is a broad network with members across the country advocating people’s control over water services and natural resources.
It is battling Senate Bill 2997 or the so-called Angara Bill and its counterpart version in Congress, House Bill 5497, which will pave the way for the full privatization of water districts nationwide. Both bills call for the formation of the Water and Sanitation Regulatory Authority under the Office of the President that will ensure the regime’s implementation of the Public-Private Partnership program related to water.
The privatization of water runs counter to the people’s interest. Access to clean water is one of the basic human rights. Thus, water services must be under the public sector and not under the control of corporations whose only concern is to amass huge profits.
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