(Bulatlat) MANILA – These days, Berlita Ante, a senior citizen and a local leader of a neighborhood association in one of Bacolod City’s poor, wakes up very early every day to fill up several barrels of water for her family’s use. If she fails to do so, her family would have no water to use for the entire day.

While there is water from the faucet, it becomes murky brown by 4:00 a.m. “It is like seeing coffee come out of our pipes,” she told Bulatlat in a phone interview.

She would then allow the faucet to run for at least 45 minutes until the water clears. “This can happen more than once a day. It’s why our water bills are so high.”

In 2020, Primewater, a company owned by one of the country’s richest and former senator Manny Villar, acquired the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa), which provides water services to nearly half of the city population.

“Before Primewater, we used to buy water by the container. But when Primewater came in, they offered promos and discounts. But in the end, we ended up paying more,” said Ante.

Poor services, increased water costs