Bayan Muna partylist on Thursday filed a motion for partial reconsideration which urged the Supreme Court (SC) to order water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water to refund the billion worth of corporate income taxes they charged their customers over the past years.
Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares along with former Bayan Muna Congressman Carlos Isagani Zarate led the filing of the petition before the higher court in Manila.
The petition was filed after the SC issued a decision declaring that both Manila Water and Maynilad are public utilities, and thus passing their corporate income taxes to their customers is prohibited.
However, the higher court earlier noted that the income taxes "may longer be recovered" as the right to refund had already lapsed the required period.
In an interview with the reporters, Colmenares said they were saddened by the SC's decision in regard to the refund.
"Bagama't kinatuwa namin na nanalo kami doon sa petition, nalungkot ang marami sa sinabi ng Korte Soprema na bagama't bawal ipataw ang corporate income tax, hindi na pwedeng humingi ng refund ang mamamayan. Kasi daw nag-file daw dapat kami noon pa man sa National Water Resource Board o NWRB ng protesta way back 2002," he said.
"Pero ang aming motion for reconsideration ay sana kumpletuhin naman ng Korte ang panalo ng taong bayan," Colmenares added.
The Bayan Muna chairman said that the refund would alleviate the plight of millions of Filipino consumers who are suffering due to the rising prices of goods, the high unemployment rate, and low wages.
He also said that they could not file for a refund back then as Maynilad and Manila Water previously insisted that they were not public utilities but agents of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).
"Hindi talaga pwedeng mag-file ang taong bayan sa NWRB, hindi katulad ngayon na opisyal na dineklara sila ng Korte Supreme [na public utility]," Colmenares said.
"We are thankful of the Supreme Court for siding with the consumers in the landmark decision. We just hope that it completes the relief asked by consumers and grant us the right to demand a refund and take back the billions we paid for the corporate income tax of the Maynilad and Manila Water arbitrarily imposed on us despite our opposition," the partylist chairman futhered.
