Ive been staying at my old room for the past 8 months since I came home. And its been that long that I have been trying to patiently understand the water situation in our neighborhood. I wrote a post a few months back and I even mentioned there that Im giving the developers of our subdivision the benefit of the doubt. I guess 8 months is long enough for me to conclude that they arent doing anything to earn my trust or confidence. Just last Friday we were told that there wont be any water supply for 5 days. And just like that they expect us to resolve this problem on our own. Fortunately, there is a guy named Parayski who make rounds to supply water. It is for sale of course but thats fine since its better than nothing. The problem is, why is it our sole responsibility to worry about our water supply when it is not our fault that the developers cannot deliver one of their main services to the homeowners which is water? They say that the the water tank broke down. Just like that. No suggestion whatsover on how we, as the people who unfortunately live here, would cope. Water is basic yet essential commodity that we need on a daily basis. And yet, we are deprived of this basic thing and we are left to fend for ourselve when they cannot provide us this service.
If you go back to my previous post, I mentioned that I even wrote an email to the people concerned. I sent it to the address on their website where they brag about that "Subdivision residents will enjoy the strong and steady water pressure provided directly from Manila Water lines." . That line really makes me laugh at the same time wish that false advertising is a crime punishable by law.
Below is the text of the email I sent last June 14, 2010. The email seem valid because my message was never returned to sender. However, to date, I have not received any response from both the email addresses I sent this to. Their contact page is still visible on this link.
| info@activegroup.com.ph | ||
| activegroup.marketing@yahoo.com; demie.alvareda@activegroup.com.ph |
I hope this email reaches the CEO Of Active Group of Companies Arch. Antonio Turalba.
Good morning Arch. Antonio Turalba, Sr.
Im writing this email at 724 AM in the morning because I cannot stand anymore the inconvenience caused by the erratic water supply here in our area. I was on vacation on May 6 and up to this day, the shocking discovery that there is no continuous water supply in a private subdivision still baffles me.
I am unsure what happened because the previous year when I was here, there seemed to be no problem with the supply. This water problem is a constant source of anxiety and frustration not just for me but for the rest of the disgruntled residents here who heavily rely on the sole water supply provided by Active.
I wake up at 5am in the morning every single day to wait on the scheduled water ration. More often than not, it is usually past 5 or even 6am that we are able to collect water. Worse sometimes it does not even last for 2 hours.
I hope you can emphatize wtith us. Within those 2 hours we have to collect water, wash the dishes, wash our clothes and clean the house. If not for my ailing father I would prefer not to live in this house and move elsewhere in Manila. Unfortunately, we have been living in this subdivision for 25 years. I dont think it is practical either to leave this place at this point considering the financial implications it will have especially now that we only wish for our father to get better.
He has congestive heart failure and he tires easily. We are simply staying here to help him. We cannot allow him to live in a dirty environment. We need WATER to ensure that our surroundings here are kept clean.
We no longer live in the stone age and I try to understand that maybe there are repairs underway or a tie up with Maynilad..But this is just unacceptable.
If this email does not reach you, I will be more than glad to visit you at your office address found on your website.
Active Group of Companies
ACT Tower, 135 Gil Puyat Avenue,
Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati
Philippines
Lastly, I have browsed your website and you will notice this description of our subdivision:
http://www.activegroup.com.ph/news.htm
La Salle Town Homes at Town & Country Heights is
perched on the cool highlands of Antipolo, Rizal, adjacent to the exclusive La Salle College campus which can be reached through a pleasant walk along a tree-lined side road. By the
last quarter of 2007, at least 15 of the townhouse units inside the subdivision will be delivered to homeowners—complete and ready for occupancy. These homes, contemporary residences
rendered for the busy lifestyles of middle-class Filipinos, have been built using the state-of-the-art Filipino Vazbuilt technology that assures extraordinary strength and lasting beauty.
Subdivision residents will enjoy the strong and steady water pressure provided directly from Manila Water lines. Residents can also enjoy lots of splashing good time as the clubhouse and swimming pool located at Phase III of Town & Country Heights have already been completed and recently
inaugurated.
I dont know what to make out of this information because it obviously contradicts what is actually happening where we live. There is no strong and steady water pressure.
Thank you for your kind attention and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
I noticed that Active Group proudly display on their website header that Active is Synergy. I wonder if they looked up what Synergy means before they decided to put this as part of their slogan.
What I dont understand is, if they cannot provide us with water supply, why wont they allow Manila Waters to take over instead? My best guess is, its about money. They cant stand the thought that instead of them making money out of the us, the homeowners, it would be Manila Waters.
But isnt it common sense that if one cannot deliver, they should find an alternative or someone else to ensure that people are not living like this? We are not living in some squatter's area . Yet we have to worry about water every single day. This is a damn private subdivision! Yet, it is ironic that the people who live by that lot donated to them by the La Salle Brothers, have consistent steady stream , strong pressure water everyday. They are not part of this "exclusive subdivision" in fact their area is jokingly called Phase Out. Our neighborhood has a Phase One, Two and Three. It turns out we have turned out as the real BIG JOKE! Because only the Phase Out area has running water!
The most shocking and annoying thing is that there is not a pinch of altruism or concern that seem to exist among these people who run this place. They dont care how we are going to deal with this bullshit. I talked to a neighbor earlier and she had a fit the entire day because the people supplying the water made her wait for 12 hours before they finally showed up at 9PM tonight to provide water. I cannot blame Parayski and his crew. They actually had to go back and forth 9 times to refill their tank because everyone in the village had no water. And they are in fact doing us a favor. The part that really aggravates me is why Active Developers are not being "active" to assist us in this situation. The woman I talked to kept running from street to street the whole afternoon when she heard the water truck pass by the adjacent street. I felt so sorry for her. I swear she almost was about to have a nervous breakdown. I listened to her wail for an hour expressing her indignation over what happened today. I emphatized with her. I just had the same experience last January 9 after I came back from a race. I didnt shower the entire day and I couldnt sleep because I was too dirty. When the water supply people finally showed up at 8 or 9PM, I was exhausted. I got sick that week because of sleep deprivation and I think that had something to do with me not being able to rest right away when i came back from the race.
This is really a sad but realistic situation that I have no control over at the moment.
Honestly, I dont know what to do with this problem but grin and bear it...for now. I am hoping there is a way for me to get this message across to people who can honestly help us. But I wonder if by that time someone does something that could improve the water problem, I would still be around or in the USA feeling sorry for my friends and family living over here.
Fuck you Active. I wonder how you sleep at night. If you can stand not taking a bath, most of us cant. I hope some disgusting roach crawls in your damn ear.
 |
| tell them Granny what you think |
This was very entertaining reading. I hope whoever is responsible for this fiasco at Active chokes to death because they don't have any water handy. It would be a suitable reward.
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