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e thank Congressman Roilo Golez for providing us with the information on an agreement in principle between Las Piñas City, Maynilad, BF Homes, Inc. and BF Homes Las Piñas homeowners. Here are the proposed agreements with our concerns/comments:
First, BFHI will declare the LPC portion of BF Homes Subdivision as OPEN AREA, thus it may not be considered as a gated, private community anymore, as such, it won’t be covered by the provision of the IRR of PD1345 which mandates that the costs of construction of water reticulation systems in gated, private subdivisions have to be for the account of the homeowners;
Comments: This seems to be an incorrect interpretation of the decree as to who will shoulder the cost to render the water system to operate at a desired level. Here is the relevant portion of the decree:
“Section 2. Upon takeover of the water system, the MWSS shall evaluate such system considering the adequacy, potability and other prevailing operating conditions. The MWSS shall thereafter cause the system to operate at the desired level as to provide adequate and potable water supply. The cost to render the system operable shall be chargeable to the subdivision owner/developer provided that the provision of adequate water supply has been specified or implied in the contract of sale or other forms used in offering the housing units within the project for sale. Otherwise, the cost to make the system operational shall be chargeable to the homeowners of the subdivision.” (Emphasis provided).
As marketed and widely advertised in 1969, BF Homes Parañaque was to have been self-contained with open spaces for parks and recreation, a commercial center, a church, a school and a water system touted to be tapped from an inexhaustible water table.
Adequate and stable supply of water is an assurance, among others, made by the BF Homes, Inc. However, this basic necessity and commitment has been denied by the developer to its lot buyers (now residents and homeowners) to the immeasurable detriment of the latter.
Clearly, the cost to rehabilitate the system should be charged to the developer BFHI as provided by the decree.
This is not quite understood by the public, but the executive order of President Arroyo, which has been touted to finally make possible the takeover of a subdivision’s water system by the homeowners association, is actually only the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the old decree.
But MWSS/Maynilad did not “takeover” the BF Waterworks under PD1345. Instead, Maynilad contracted to provide each enclave potable water system separate from that of BF Waterworks.
For instance, in a letter to an enclave, BFHI threatened legal action for the excavation on the road lots for the purpose of laying water pipes without securing permit from the developer. “The road lots inside the subdivision BF Homes Parañaque are still private in nature as there is yet no donation made in favor of the local government or any homeowners association. Being private roads, no exaction or any construction works may be made therein without the written permit from the developer or owner.”
The cost of the subdivision lots sold include all costs such as roads and parks, open spaces and other improvements. As the Supreme Court stressed in the in the doctrinal White Plains case: “The owners of a subdivision include all costs, such as the setting aside of road spaces and open areas for parks, and possibly the construction of curbs and whatever improvements it may have published entice lot buyers, in computing the value at which all lots shall be sold. If the subdivision reneges on any of its commitments, as exemplified in this case, the lot buyers are short-changed. They are made to pay more for less than what was agreed upon.” Having paid for them when they bought their properties, the homeowners, in effect, are the beneficial owners of these amenities.
A good alternative is for the mayors of the 3 cities to expeditiously, with unwavering political will, pursue the acquisition by the LGUs of the road lots, open spaces, etc. of BF Homes by public auction of these properties for non-payment of real property taxes - as the LGUs can immediately transfer title to the properties in their favor per the LGU code of 1991 and the Issuance of the Land Registration Authority. This suggestion has been gathering dust and dusted every election and conveniently forgotten afterwards.
Second, once declared open area, Maynilad seems to have agreed to underwrite the cost of construction to be funded from its CAPEX budget, thus, unlike in the Parañaque and Muntinlupa areas, MWSI seems to have agreed not to pass on the burden to the homeowners-consumers, subject to the approval of MWSS and the availability and prioritization of MWSI’s CAPEX funds;
Comments: After Maynilad’s President Rogelio Singson statement that “…[we] still cannot subsidize private subdivisions under existing policies of MWSS and under HLURB/PD-1345”, it is pertinent to ask what are the existing policies of MWSS that allows Maynilad (under its charter?) to charge private subdivision homeowners for the cost of construction of water system.
In BF Homes Parañaque, the construction cost of the water system is equally divided among the homeowners in the enclave. What is unfair is that the commercial establishments along the main roads where the main pipes are installed do not have to pay for the construction cost but only connection cost and charged the commercial rate of the water consumed as compared to the lower residential rate for homeowners.
What is disgusting is the requirement that not only homeowners have to pay for the water system but also “donate” it to Maynilad. The homeowners have to pay 48 monthly installments so they obviously do not own the water system. How can they legally donate the system they don’t own?
To top it all, the tertiary pipes (black pipes) are temporary installations on the sidewalk. After 48 months, a new tertiary pipes will be (permanently?) installed. Since Maynilad “cannot subsidize construction cost in private subdivisions” (except BF Homes Las Piñas?) so BF Homes Parañaque homeowners will have to dig into their pockets again for another round of installation cost of the tertiary pipes.
Third, in consideration for its declaration of the LPC portion of BF Homes Subdivision as open area, there shall be, for four years only, an add-on charge of P10.00 per cubic meter of actual consumption as a RIGHT-OF WAY (ROW) toll fee in favor of and payable to BF Homes, Inc. Assuming an average consumption of 30cu.m. /month, the cost to the homeowner is P300/month for a total of P14,400 in 4 years. This ROW toll fee shall be billed as a separate line item and included in the monthly water bill /SOA of Maynilad which MWSI has agreed to include, subject to the approval of the MWSS-Regulatory Office. MWSI, however, clarified that if the customer won’t pay this ROW toll fee item in the bill/SOA they will not disconnect.
Fourth, the homeowner has the option to accept or reject this ROW toll fee, but it would seem he/she really has no viable option as rejection means no potable water service connection.
Comments: This arrangement is beneficial to both Maynilad and the developer but not to the homeowners. Maynilad avoids the cost of due process and just compensation for the system and the developer gets to charge P10 per cu.m. used by the homeowners by way of compensation for the system that Maynilad is supposed to pay when it acquires the system. This tantamount to tolerating and rewarding the utter misrepresentation and dereliction of duty committed by the developer while penalizing the residents and homeowners in continuously depriving them of much needed potable water.
At the risk of being repetitious, there is no sense of personal honor of keeping one’s word anymore. We have become a society of Pontius Pilates, washing our hands of responsibilities as he did. Yet a man who does not keep his promises is not a man; he is a weasel.
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