Radio silence from PrimeWater – even from new owner Crystal Bridges – left the LGU of San Jose del Monte and government takeover as their ‘only option,’ says city administrator Rizaldy Mendoza.
MANILA, Philippines – The local government of San Jose del Monte (SJDM) is taking control of the city’s water district starting Tuesday, May 5, after ongoing problems with the water utility company. PrimeWater caused harm to its customers in the province of Bulacan.
According to the March 13 order authorizing the confiscation, at least 62 barangays and 25% of the total households in the City of San Jose Del Monte experienced “disruptions to varying degrees of water service, with residents enduring long periods without access to clean and potable water.”
City Administrator Rizaldy Mendoza, during a press conference on Tuesday after the takeover notice was delivered to the water district, said that this disruption was so bad that classes had to be suspended, health and sanitation became a major concern, and social services were affected.
Previous reports by Rappler have extensively covered the ongoing water problems in the city, such as April 2025 a report that showed how SJDM residents have been suffering from – and fighting against – PrimeWater’s poor service for almost a decade now.
this”water service problem” even pushed the SJDM city government to declare a state of calamity in March 2026. The declaration opened up emergency powers to the LGU, including the authority to take control of the water district.
In the past, taking power was not the LGU’s only option, Mendoza said. But radio silence from PrimeWater – even from its new owner Crystal Bridges – left the San Jose del Monte LGU with no choice.
“From the rank and file of the organization to the president of Prime(Water) – we talked to all of them just to know what solutions we can do to help them… Even back in 2022, we already started pressuring them. It’s 2026 now, still nothing,” he explained in Filipino. “So taking over the government is the only option we have.”
Even after PrimeWater’s partnership with the local government was terminated in November 2025, Mendoza claimed that PrimeWater has not contacted them even once. He added that when Crystal Bridges Holding Corporation of Lucio Co acquired 100% of PrimeWater owned by Villar, the LGU only learned about the change of owners through news reports.
“We don’t have any official communication from Prime (Water) or Crystal Bridges about a change in management,” Mendoza told Rappler. “So we don’t have any responsibility to inform them (Crystal Bridges) about the takeover.”
As far as Mendoza knows, even the PrimeWater officials who received the takeover notice were “still PrimeWater employees, as they claimed.”
A one-year plan for local governments
According to City Law No. 2026-03-012, the acquisition gives the SJDM city government authority over the facilities and property of the water district and PrimeWater that relate to water supply and wastewater systems. This takeover will last for one year, subject to the limits of the LGU’s emergency powers.
The order also allows the city government to appoint an interim water service operator that will partner with the LGU in building priority infrastructure which PrimeWater did not do.
“Under the JVA (joint venture agreement), there is a commitment of P6.8-billion as capital infrastructure… but it seems that only about P748 million was spent on the infrastructure built,” Mendoza said in Filipino. “That means that the infrastructure projects that should have been built from the first year to the fifth year of the JVA did not happen.”
He added that, according to studies conducted by the Local Government Authority (LGU) and water services experts, the city should prioritize at least nine infrastructure projects to ensure access to water for customers.
PrimeWater’s response: ‘Objection received’
No representatives from PrimeWater attended the May 5 press conference, but they were present at the SJDM Water District building. City officials issued a takedown notice to these officers during a private meeting that was held prior to the press conference.
Mendoza would go on to explain to the media how officials from the troubled water utility responded to the takeover notice.
“There was little, professional talk, and no opposition,” he said. “But there was a note on the copy received (which said) ‘received with objection… they (also) said they would send it to their head office.’
Meanwhile, Mendoza said that the LGU will wait for further action from the water service company. But he insisted that the city government conducted a thorough investigation and consultation with experts on the legality of the takeover, which he said was the reason for the six-month gap between the termination of the JVA in November 2025 and the government takeover.
Rappler has contacted PrimeWater SJDM and PrimeWater’s head office for their information on the takeover, but there was still no response to the publication. We will update this story as soon as we receive a response. – Rappler.com
