Title 1

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

SEC. 1. Title. This Decree shall be known and referred to as the " Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973."

SEC.2. Declaration of Policy. The Creation, operation, maintenance and expansion of reliable and economically viable and sound water supply and wastewater disposal systems for population centers of the Philippines in hereby declared to be an objectives of national policy of high priority. For purposes of achieving said objectives, the formulation and operation of independent, locally controlled public water district is found and declared to be the most feasible and favored institutional structure. To this end, it is hereby declared to be in the national interest that said district be formed and that water supply wastewater disposal system be operated by and through such district to the greatest extent practicable. To encourage the formulation of such local water districts and the transfer thereto of existing water supply and wastewater disposal facilities, this Decree provides by general act the authority for the formation thereof, an a local option basis. It is likewise declared appropriate, necessary and advisable that all funding requirements for such local revenues, should be channeled through and administered by an institution on the national level, which institution shall be responsible for and have authority to promulgate and enforce certain rules and regulations to achieve national goals and the objective of providing public waterworks services integration or joint investments and operations whenever economically warranted and to assure the maintenance of uniform standards, training of personnel and the adoption of sound operating and accounting procedures.

SEC.3. Definitions. As used in this Decree, the following words and terms shall have the meanings herein set forth, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context. The definition of a word or term applies to any its variants.

(a) Act. This Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973.

(b) Appointing Authority. The person empowered to appoint the members of the Board of Directors of a local water district depending upon the geographic coverage and population make-up of the particular district. In the event the more than seventy-five percent of the total active water service connections of a local water district are within the boundary of any city or municipality, the appointing authority shall be the major of the city or municipality, as the case may be; otherwise, the appointing authority shall be the governor of the province within which the district is located: Provided, That if the existing waterworks system in the city or municipality established as a water district under this Decree is operated and managed by the province, initial appointment shall be extended by the governor of the province. Subsequent appointments shall be as specified herein.

If portions of more than one province are included within the boundary of the district, and the appointing authority is to be the governor, then the power to appoint shall rotate between the governors involved with the initial appointments made by the governor in whose province the greatest number of service connections exists. (As amended by Sec. 1,PD 768).

(c) Administration. The Local Water Utilities Administration chartered in Title III of this Decree.

(d) NEDA. The National Economic and Development Authority. (Note:This paragraph should properly have been deleted).

(e) Board or Board of Directors. The Board of Directors of a district.

(f) Contracts. All agreements, including leasers, conveyances and obligations

(f) District. A local water district formed pursuant to Title II of this Act.

(h) Local Water Utilities. Any district, city, municipality, province, investor-owned public utility or cooperative corporation which owns or operates a water system serving an urban center in the Philippines, except that said term shall not include the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) or any system operated by the Bureau of Public Works as successor to the Walls and Springs Department of the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority.

(I) Person. A natural persons, corporation, cooperative, partnership, association, city, municipality or other juridical entity.
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(j) Property. All real and personal property, including but not limited to: water, water rights, works, easements, rights of way.

(k) Street. Includes road, alley, avenue, and highway of other public of way.

(I) Trustees or Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees of the Administration.