In separate motions, the water firms told the high court that the requirement to implement the connectivity of sewage systems in a short period of five years would not only cause an increase in water rates as it would also result in a lot of drillings that may paralyze traffic.
“Maynilad respectfully submits that this Honorable Court could not, and should not, shy away from its duty of obeying the Manila Bay Judgment ,” said Maynilad in its 158-page motion for reconsideration. “Inevitably, the assailed decision results in the violation of Maynilad’s constitutional rights to due process and equality before the law. Accordingly, the fines should be lifted, or at the very least tempered and or mitigated, so as to ensure fairness and justice, as well as to incentivize, rather than stymie, compliance with the CWA,” Maynilad said.
For Maynilad, compliance with the Supreme Court order would mean laying down of sewer lines with a total length of 424,283 meters within five years. The petitioner said other government agencies such as DENR, the Department of Health, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH, and local government units also have obligations under Section 8 of the Clean Water Act.