Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Today, I Just Want to Weep: On Disputing Maynilad's Water Bills


I am going to write down this day as one of the worst I have ever known in my life. Horrible. Just horrible. I wept in exasperation.  Thanks to the wonderful privatization of water services in this country, a profiteering and inefficient company like Maynilad has the power to appear at my gate with a notice of disconnection, and threats of court litigation, for an exorbitant amount of water I did not use.

I went to their area office and got this print out of UNDER-COLLECTED BILLS - that is, money they say we owe them because they were not charged to us before. Are they kidding? Here's the kicker: the dates covered:  2006 to 2009!!! I WAS NOT even married - nor even engaged to Oliver for most of that period. I was living in Singapore, he was living in Hong Kong. And we lived in Batangas in 2009.  We only moved to this house in 2010 -  and even that brings tears to my eyes (but that's another story).  So this friendly-enough guy at Maynilad tells me: If you can prove you did not live in this house then, it may help. Show us a deed-of-sale, but it cannot be from family. GREAT! This house IS family property. Darn. If you're family, you have to assume responsibility, says our friendly Maynilad official. Haha.  Just great. 

So this unpleasant business lands on my lap. Grrrrr. Now, I have to deal with this crap like any other frustrated housewife with stressful domestic issues.  If only we can really THROW money away to make irritations go away.  But even if I had millions to spend to pay for the entire neighborhood's water, still, I wouldn't want to be surprised like this - slapped with a 56,000 peso bill one day.

So what's the issue: Illegal tapping and tampering of the meter. Mind you, the meter is OUTSIDE the house so we had no protection. We were NEVER billed for the UNDER-COLLECTED usage (enjoyed most probably by the crooks in the neighborhood, at our expense).  They are asking us to pay for 1,800 cubic meters of pilfered water as per their findings based on a meter test (conducted by their officials, with no witness from our side). Maynilad feels empowered by RA 8041 which has a section on anti-tampering. I read up on my rights and how I can argue this out, and they said I have a right to due process, so we can take this up in court. Meanwhile, they disconnect our service. Grrrr. They have all the cards. 

I wrote a well-researched letter on their infractions (technicalities like the fact that the Meter Testing Sheet was not duly signed in the presence of a witness and regulatory officer; or that RA 8041 stipulates that I be informed within a reasonable period, which of course was not followed).  They barely read my letter. I've never been so eloquent in arguing, and so powerless in actual fact. They have the means to lock my water meter and take away my daily water supply.

I paid EVERY bill I received on time. I embraced CONSERVATION and used water conscientiously. I close the faucet when I brush my teeth, or shampoo my hair. I heat only enough for my one cup of tea. I teach my daughter to save water. And now this.  You know why I weep? Because if I was single, I would fight this out, tooth and nail, and even enjoy the challenge. But I am not single. I have a stressed and tired husband who works himself to death and needs to come home to his refuge, where he can take a break. He deserves his nice shower, God knows he's earned it. And I have 2 young children, and staff, and 3 huge dogs with heaps of smelly waste matter. I feel trapped.

Thousands of pesos down the drain. I can't get over it. I can't accept it. I am mad and still not sure how to proceed. So, I just want to weep. Maybe later, I'll pray. Tomorrow, I have to decide on a course of action, and act fast first thing in the morning, before the collectors come to take my water away. If I decide to pay tomorrow, I would have sold myself out, and bought into the system, and surrendered whatever ounce of resistance I had left.  On the one hand, it is just money. But then again, it is not just that. It feels unfair, and unjust, that the lawful get to pay for the crimes of the unlawful.  It feels unfair that water, a basic human need, can be wielded like this. Hooray for privatization! Hep, hep, Hooray! But I am wondering if protesting and resisting, and going on non-violent water strike (like a hunger strike of sorts, only this time it involves sacrificing water usage) is a luxury I can no longer afford, now that I have my husband and children to think about? I feel sick to my stomach.

Excuse me, while I weep some more.
Posted by Nikki Briones Carsi Cruz at 6:22 AM
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