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UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Politics of Pipes: The Persistence of Small Water Networks in Post-Privatization Manila Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1tr5t83z Author Cheng, Deborah Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Politics of Pipes: The Persistence of Small Water Networks in Post-Privatization Manila By Deborah Cheng A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources and the Designated Emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Isha Ray, Chair Professor Ananya Roy Professor Peter Evans Spring 2013 The Politics of Pipes: The Persistence of Small Water Networks in Post-Privatization Manila © 2013 by Deborah Cheng Abstract The Politics of Pipes: The Persistence of Small Water Networks in Post-Privatization Manila by Deborah Cheng Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources and the Designated Emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Isha Ray, Chair This project examines the politics of water provision in low-income areas of large, developing cities. In the last two decades, water privatization has become a global paradigm, emerging as a potential means for addressing the urban water crisis. In Manila, the site of the world’s largest water privatization project, service to low-income areas has improved significantly in the post-privatization era. But whereas expansion of a water utility typically involves the replacement of informal providers, the experience in Manila demonstrates that the rapid connection of low-income areas actually hinges, in part, on the selective inclusion and exclusion of these smaller actors. Based on an ethnography of the private utilities and community-based providers, I use the persistence of small water networks as a lens for exploring the limits of water privatization in Manila. I focus on what I call micro-networks—community-built infrastructure that extends the formal, private utilities into low-income neighborhoods that the utilities do not wish to serve directly. In such a setup, the utility provides water only as far as the community boundary; beyond that, the micro- network operator constructs internal infrastructure, monitors for leakage and theft, and collects bills. But while these communities may gain access to safer water, they are also subject to higher costs and heightened disciplinary measures. By tracing the ways in which the utilities selectively use micro- networks to manage sub-populations, I show how the utilities make low-income spaces more governable. Delegating localized water management to micro-network operators depoliticizes the utilities’ roles, shifting the sociopolitical difficulties of water provision to community organizations, while allowing the utilities to claim that these areas are served. This research leads to three related arguments. First, the persistence of small water networks highlights lingering inequities in access to water, for micro-network consumers are subject to disparities in cost, materials, and personal freedoms. Though Manila’s water privatization project has resulted in significant improvements to the centralized system, its success must be tempered by the inequalities that remain. Second, the two utilities are largely able to shape both the geographies of water access and the production of knowledge. For this reason, the utilities typically use micro- networks where cost recovery may be difficult—such as in areas with uncertain land tenure or where higher levels of nonpayment are perceived—while including these areas in their aggregate coverage 1 statistics. Third, the presence of multiple providers of water and other basic services blurs the boundaries between public, private, and community. But that blurriness serves to consolidate the private utilities’ power, while increasing the opacity by which citizens navigate processes related to urban water provision. The persistence of micro-networks thus allows us to understand the ways in which low-income spaces are made more governable. By focusing on this peri-urban frontier, this project asserts that differentiation and discipline serve simultaneously as tools of governance and as points of contestation. What emerges is a waterscape consisting not of one type of privatization—where service and access are uniformly provided—but multiple, coexisting, and differentiated privatizations. 2 For M. i Table of Contents List of Figures iv List of Tables iv Acronyms and Abbreviations v Acknowledgements vii Chapter 1. Introduction: Manila’s Water Privatization Project 1 1.1 Toward universal water access 3 1.2 Governing flows 5 1.3 Methods and limitations 8 1.4 Outline of chapters 12 Chapter 2. Water and Power: The Evolution of Manila’s Water System 14 2.1 Manila’s water system, 1882 to 1996 16 2.2 Toward global (water) privatization 21 2.3 The privatization of the Philippines 24 2.4 Manila’s water privatization project 28 2.5 Conclusion 34 Chapter 3. Bridging the Gap: Micro-networks as a Means of Connecting the Poor 36 3.1 The informality of water provision 39 3.2 NGOs, IFIs, and the state 41 3.3 Micro-networks, part 1: Manila Water 44 3.4 Micro-networks, part 2: Maynilad 48 3.5 A typology of micro-networks 50 3.6 The persistence of informality 52 3.7 Conclusion 54 Chapter 4. (Sk)water Settlements: The Struggle for Land, Livelihood, and Water 56 4.1 Manila’s housing crisis 58 4.2 Where land and water meet 62 4.3 Managing Manggahan 64 4.4 The legal limbo in Hope Hills 69 4.5 Conclusion 72 Chapter 5. Micro-networks of Discipline and Reform 74 5.1 Down with NRW 77 5.2 Managing the poor 81 5.3 Partners in the provision of water 85 5.4 The Philippines’ “undisciplined and disorderly conditions” 87 5.5 The (in)visibility of urban water networks 89 5.6 Conclusion 92 Chapter 6. The Pluralistic Nature of Community 94 6.1 The pluralism of community 99 ii 6.2 Valuing water 102 6.3 The specter of NWSA 107 6.4 Problematizing water 110 6.5 Conclusion 113 Chapter 7. Conclusion: On the Limits of Privatization 115 7.1 Testing the waters 116 7.2 The ongoing rise of the private 118 7.3 Reimagining the future 119 7.4 Endnote 122 References 123 Appendix A. Map of Metro Manila and Referenced Areas 139 Appendix B. Research Methods 140 B.1. Surveys 142 B.2. Interviews 145 Appendix C. Select Data from Household Surveys and Interviews 147 C.1 Pagasa 147 C.2 Santa Ana 148 C.3 Salcedo 149 C.4 Cost comparison 151 Appendix D. Water Quality Data 153 Appendix E. Photo Essay 155 iii List of Figures Figure 1.1. Scenes from the alleys. 3 Figure 1.2. Location of my three project sites within the concessionaires’ service areas. 11 Figure 2.1. Water mascots. 14 Figure 2.2. World Bank investment commitments to water projects with PSP. 23 Figure 2.3. A rare anti-privatization protest. 27 Figure 2.4. Manila Water’s TPSB schemes. 30 Figure 2.5. Coverage statistics, as reported by MWSS, Manila Water, and Maynilad. 31 Figure 2.6. NRW statistics, as reported by MWSS, Manila Water, and Maynilad. 32 Figure 2.7. The Manila Water Company’s stock price, from 2008 to 2013. 33 Figure 3.1. Marilou’s micro-network project in Biñan. 37 Figure 3.2. Formal and informal water sectors. 38 Figure 3.3. Pre-privatization micro-networks. 51 Figure 4.1. Aerial photograph of the Manggahan Floodway. 57 Figure 4.2. Houses on the berm side of the Manggahan Floodway. 66 Figure 4.3. An aguador and the meter that is attached to the end of his hose. 72 Figure 5.1. Scenes of everyday life in Salcedo. 74 Figure 5.2. Micro-networks shift responsibilities from the concessionaires to CBOs. 83 Figure 5.3. Banks of clustered water and electricity meters in Salcedo. 84 Figure 6.1. The third annual Santa Ana general assembly. 97 Figure 6.2. Alternative means of accessing water. 104 Figure 6.3. Self-identified community problems in Santa Ana, Salcedo, and Pagasa. 111 Figure 7.1. The wall that hides the poor. 122 List of Tables Table 2.1. Select ADB projects related to the improvement of Manila’s water system. 20 Table 2.2. Prequalified bidders for MWSS privatization. 26 Table 3.1. A typology of pre- and post-privatization micro-networks. 52 Table 6.1. Water usage among 89 households surveyed in Santa Ana. 103 Table 6.2. Stated preference for Maynilad among 89 households surveyed in Santa Ana. 105 Table 6.3. Stated reasons for preferring Manila Water or the Pagasa cooperative. 106 iv Acronyms and Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank AWCP Associated Water Center Philippines BT Bayan Tubig CBO Community-based organization CDI Carmel Development, Incorporated CMP Community Mortgage Program GI Galvanized iron GK Gawad Kalinga GOCC Government-owned or –controlled corporation GPOBA Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid HUDCC Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development IFC International Finance Corporation IFI International financial institution IMF International Monetary Fund IPD Institute for Popular Democracy LUPON League of United People’s Organization Network MDG Millennium Development Goal MERALCO Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company MMDA Metropolitan Manila Development Authority MPIC Metro Pacific Investments Corporation MRT-7 Metro Rail Line Transit 7 MWD Metropolitan Water District MWSS Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System MWSS-RO