FIRING LINE: ‘Unwelcome here!’ 

FIRING LINE: ‘Unwelcome here!’ 

By Robert B. Roque Jr. | July 16, 2026

There is perhaps no harsher indictment of a public utility than hearing an entire city say, “You’re no longer welcome here.”

That is exactly what happened in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, where the city council passed a resolution declaring PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. an unwelcome enterprise after years of complaints over prolonged water interruptions, deteriorating facilities, and what local officials described as negligence and a lack of cooperation.

For a business entrusted with delivering life’s most basic necessity, that is no ordinary rebuke. In fact, it feels more like excommunication!

The dispute between the local government unit (LGU) and PrimeWater had spilled into the courts. And because the matter is now sub judice, prudence dictates that we leave the legal issues where they belong — before the judiciary.

Suffice it to say that the legal battleground reached Las Piñas City, where PrimeWater sought judicial relief and initially obtained a temporary restraining order.
Is that a coincidence or what? I mean, yes, the company is addressed in Las Piñas, but so is the Villars — you know, the owners until December last year?
Well, at least that reprieve from the court proved short-lived after it declined to grant a longer injunction. The courts will have the final word on the legal questions.

But none of us can pass judgment on the enraged public, who have suffered the short end of the stick in the service they receive every day. No one has the right to dismiss the water woes that affect the daily lives of families in Bulacan.
Cities do not terminate long-standing arrangements, tap interim providers, and formally ask national agencies to investigate unless confidence has eroded to alarming levels.

Whether those allegations ultimately translate into legal liability is one question. Whether consumers have suffered enough to lose faith is another matter altogether.

Then came another curious development. PrimeWater has secured approval to change its corporate name to Hiraya Water Corp., while assuring the public that nothing else changes — not its obligations, liabilities, agreements, or responsibilities.

Perhaps it is simply a corporate rebranding. But one cannot help asking: if a company’s greatest asset is public trust, can a new name succeed where dependable service has struggled?

A fresh corporate identity may improve the letterhead. But all that trouble rings hollow if it cannot improve the water flowing from the tap.

That would take a new set of competence and accountability. For all its worth, Firing Line wishes both parties and the public they serve the best moving forward.

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