Duterte threatens to expose figures behind ‘onerous’ water deals

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday threatened to reveal the names of the people who were involved in the crafting of the “onerous” 1997 water concession agreement with Maynilad and Manila Water.

The water deal contains provisions that violate the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, the president said in his speech at the 120th anniversary celebration of the Baptist Churches in the Philippines.

“I could not just fathom bakit ginawa nila ‘yun sa Filipinos?” he said. “The prohibited acts in the Anti-Graft Law are there in the contract itself, so how come the lawyers of this republic allowed it to happen?

Duterte said everyone who was involved in the water concession agreement is trying to “explain their role as minimal.”

“Even if we renew the contract or not, the people should know kung sinong mga Filipino [involved] and I will reveal all of them,” he said.

“I will reveal who are they so you can ask them—the Ayala and Pangilinan—‘Bakit mo ginawa sa amin ‘yan?’”

The government’s contracts with the water concessionaires are set to expire in 2022 after the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System canceled the extension of the agreement that was supposed to be until 2037. —LDF, GMA News