The Puerto Princesa City Water District has resumed its policy of disconnecting service lines with unpaid bills, lifting its three-month temporary suspension due to the COVID-19 situation in the city.
Information officer Jenn Rausa of Puerto Princesa City Water District (PPCWD) said the Board of Directors (BOD) decided to resume the disconnection as the city’s quarantine status has been downgraded from modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) to general community quarantine (GCQ).
“As per BOD resolution naman, once na mag-declare ulit ng ECQ/MECQ, we will again suspend the disconnection,” Rausa said Thursday.
The city water district started to implement the temporary suspension of disconnecting service lines in April to limit the number of consumers rushing to pay during the disconnection period.
The measure was also implemented by PPCWD to comply with the health protocol within their premises.
In a previous story, PPCWD admitted that as the temporary suspension of disconnecting service lines was implemented as humanitarian consideration, it also affected the finances of the city water district.
Even after the city water district has resumed the disconnection of service lines, it still cannot regain the financial loss before the year ends, Rausa said.
“Hindi sufficient ‘yong collection natin na punan ‘yong negative natin sa sales since last year pa. Also, bumaba rin talaga ‘yong consumption due to absence of commercial consumers natin,” she said.
Consumers may settle their unpaid bills through the payment centers in Sta. Monica main office and drive-thru, NCCC, and Lacao.
The PPCWD is also still working out the payment system through GCash, she added.
The disconnection of service lines is scheduled during the last week of the month.
Meanwhile, the PPCWD targets to inaugurate its P700 million Water System Improvement Project Phase II (WSIP II) in Montible and Lapu-Lapu rivers on August 5.
The project was conceptualized in 2014 in a bid to provide a stable, reliable, and sustainable supply of water for 30 years in the city. The construction started in 2019 after the signing of an agreement with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) which covers the area of the water sources.
